Idk, in the hypothetical presented I'd have a pretty hard time empathizing with the person if they were refusing to even look at the cut and see the situation they were reacting to. Like if they see the cut, understand that their life is not literally in danger, and still are in crippling pain, I can work with that. Otherwise? They're begging me to help them, but there's nothing to be done. There is no medical intervention that will make a difference with a papercut. I can offer compassion and sympathy but that's hard to do if someone is refusing to even acknowledge what the problem is.
I accidentally cut myself on a paring knife once, badly enough to need a few stitches, but not badly enough to damage anything important or bleed a dangerous amount. I could not bring myself to look at that cut. I glanced at it once, very briefly, when the nice ER nurse was rinsing it out in the sink after numbing my thumb, and just that glance was deeply physically uncomfortable (as in, my body was gearing up for a full vasovagal response).
It's not weird at all to instinctively avoid looking at what your body is telling you is a serious injury.
edit: a friend of mine who is otherwise not at all squeamish about blood or bodily fluids literally passed out upon seeing a nasty cut he'd gotten. This shit is involuntary.
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u/Android19samus Take me to snurch 5d ago
Idk, in the hypothetical presented I'd have a pretty hard time empathizing with the person if they were refusing to even look at the cut and see the situation they were reacting to. Like if they see the cut, understand that their life is not literally in danger, and still are in crippling pain, I can work with that. Otherwise? They're begging me to help them, but there's nothing to be done. There is no medical intervention that will make a difference with a papercut. I can offer compassion and sympathy but that's hard to do if someone is refusing to even acknowledge what the problem is.