Something I read during the past few weeks keeps coming up for me. And it was this: that most of the stress in our lives comes from other people.
Now I'm not sure how true that statement is. But for some reason it keeps resonating with me. And when things keep running through my head like a gerbil on a wheel I start paying attention.
After all, even though I like to follow politics, it's not stressful. Yeah, I have my favorites of who I'd like to see win the presidency. But it doesn't keep me awake at night. And that's because no matter who's president there's little change in my life.
Even the world situation, with all the wars going on, doesn't create stress for me. Since I was a child there have been dozens of conflicts going on. Sadly, I think I've become inured to the violence in the world.
But now the people I deal with each day, that's a different story. In the addiction field we deal with a lot of different personalities. Many of them have conflicting interests. Some are in a lot of emotional pain, mostly self-inflicted.
And when dealing with human lives we have greater responsibility. It can be frustrating to come up with answers for every situation. To help everyone who comes through the doors. And often we aren't able to.
And because we're compassionate and caring that powerlessness can sometimes weigh on us. And that's when we have to recognize when we're getting overloaded and take a deep breath.
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