The Boiled Frog

These days, checking the networks, I came across an article where the doctor who wrote it asked Do you suffer from Boiled Frog Syndrome? So what about me? Immediately, my little antennae for detecting new knowledge went into action and, somewhat excited and curious, I set out to read what it was all about.

After reviewing the article, I felt the need to continue my research, because I was not very convinced, so I fell into the arms of Uncle Google and now I come to tell you a little about this topic.

What is the Boiled Frog Syndrome?

According to Google, specifically Wikipedia,

"the boiled frog syndrome is an analogy used to describe the phenomenon that occurs when faced with a problem that is progressively so slow that its damage can be perceived as long term or not perceived at all, the lack of awareness generates that there are no reactions or that these are so late as to avoid or reverse the damage that has already been done."

In other words, we suffer from the boiled frog syndrome, when we allow, consciously or unconsciously, situations that are in some way unfavorable to our general well-being. These situations can be applied in the relationships we have, in our health, when we see reflected some slight pain or some other condition that is unfavorable to ourselves.

Understanding its definition, this syndrome is something very common. We all know a person who never complains about anything, adapts to everything, being more permissive and we confuse them with patient or benevolent people but instead they are going through this situation. Mosca! This does not only apply to others, we ourselves can also do it.

But why is it called Boiled Frog Syndrome?

The term "Boiled Frog" comes from a book entitled "The Frog Who Didn't Know He Was Boiled... and Other Life Lessons" by the French-Swiss writer and philosopher Olivier Clerc.

Where this writer, uses as an analogy the fact that if you put a frog inside a container with water that is heating, it will belong there and as the water temperature changes the frog will also change its temperature, adapting to the environment, but when it can no longer adapt to that high temperature (if the fire is increased little by little), the frog will not be able to jump or escape because it will not have the energy it needs to make the leap. But if it is put directly into a container of boiling water, the frog will jump out of the container and escape.

Therefore, this story began to be used as a metaphor to refer to people who have the inability or unwillingness to react to threats that arise in their surroundings.

Analogy Applications

This analogy has many applications, the most important (for me) is in the area of health and relationships. For example

In Health, who has not had a slight pain and does not worry about going to check if it is something more serious?

Some time ago, I saw in the mirror a small cavity in one of my molars, as it did not hurt and I saw that its size was not serious, I forgot about it and so I let some years go by. With the passage of time that tooth became a crater, creating a larger hole in the tooth in question and causing me a lot of pain. When I decided to go to the dentist, I had to undergo a series of treatments to avoid losing it and I was able to save it, but at the cost of a lot of pain, sleepless nights and a heavy economic expense. I could have avoided this by going to the doctor that first day when I saw her.

In the same way, this syndrome can be observed in people who are sedentary, those who do not perform any type of physical activity and have a bad diet, and with the passing of time suffer from serious diseases or pathologies such as overweight, diabetes or some vices, etc.

In relationships, we also suffer from this syndrome when we relate to narcissistic people and have toxic relationships, those interpersonal relationships that hurt us, whether with family, friends or even in relationships. When we have a relationship where dependence, psychological, physical and emotional abuse abound, we can become a boiled frog.

In many cases, we ourselves get into the pot, knowing that we are not on the right track, but we convince ourselves that something will improve or eventually things will change and we decide to turn a blind eye, pretend to be crazy and leave our desires, needs and tastes aside. Therefore, the boiled frog syndrome can be internal or external, conscious or unconscious, part of our mistaken beliefs and lack of self-esteem.

What can we do to avoid it?

- First of all, we must be aware, be attentive when we feel any danger nearby, it is very important to learn to distinguish when we can or should adapt and when not.

- To stop assuming that we can change others, to understand that people change by their own will and if I want to change someone then I must work on myself. Let's stop being ambulances.

- Give us our place, encourage our self-esteem and strengthen our self-esteem, in this way we will know what we are worth and what we deserve.

- Learn to set limits and respect them.

For the human being it is important and necessary to relate to others, so it is equally important to learn to do so. In some cases we must adapt, be empathetic, flexible and give our arm to twist, but we must always do it taking care of our limits and taking into account the exact moment when we must say YA.

I hope you liked my article.

The images were taken from pixabay

Use the DEELP translator to get the English translation.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)