By: Noha Essam
It is no myth. There has been a trending wave of sarcasm against girls claiming their right for attention using the famous phrase “Attention is not to be asked”, or in other words الاهتمام ما بيتطلبش.

Letting aside the obsessive kind of attention seekers who seek attention for sheer attention, society should revisit its concept of attention and care when it is most needed and required.

And though the attention issue has been flaring lately among couples in romantic relationships, it is, in fact, a core base for all inter-relations to keep going and stay healthy.

Attention should be there between parents and children, teachers and students, man and woman, and even humans and animals, nature and other humans.

The lack of attention is a lack of meaning for any relation, and yes, it should never be asked or begged for. When attention is absent from the relation, the other side immediately starts fading and withering away. They might overlook their need to be cared for and appreciated one time after another finding excuses  for the other party, but then eventually the whole thing starts turning into a harsh deserted place where one side keeps losing hope, faith and belief in the whole relation.

Lack of attention feeds on its victim and turns them to pale souls. And just as it is a fact that such suffering should not by any means be tolerated by anyone, it is equally a fact that the party depriving others from attention should not ask questions like why did you not say you want so and so or why did you not draw my attention.

In fact, if you decide to be part of a relation, you should make sure you are aware of your part in it that is if you’re emotionally ready to step in there before anything. As a mother, I should not wait for my kids to withdraw to their friends for care and support to realize that I was so detached from them at many points of their lives when all they needed was a reassuring hug, smile or intimate talk.

As a partner, I should not keep regarding myself as the center of the world and the relation; expecting my partner to meet all my needs and work for my sheer satisfaction. If you have a pet cat or dog, you will see that they come to you claiming their share in hugs and playfulness when they feel for a moment that you have been detached from them, so imagine how it is with humans.

The worst thing in life is feeling alone when with someone; be it family, partners or other. You just feel let down when all is left behind to yourself is only yourself. Without emotional support and understanding, relations become prisons and causes of depression and emotional pain.

So, for all those people out there who failed the ones closest to them; parents who failed their children or partners who failed their partners, please do yourselves and them a favour and be up to what you took for granted, because heartbreaks are not easily cured or forgotten.