As a mental health clinician, I worked with people with the most severe and persistent mental illnesses. These are the people in our society who have suffered the very most. So I've seen far more than my fair share of suffering.
Over the last few years, I've spent a large portion of my time learning everything I can about emotions and emotional health.
This morning, I heard a story of a person who was raised in circumstances that rival anything I've ever heard. Despite my years of experience in dealing with these horrific stories and my years of learning how to take good care of my emotional health, I can't shake it. I've been sitting here for the last few hours, trying to process what I heard, but I can't. It won't release. It won't go away. There's just a hard ache in my chest. I guess it's going to stay there. At least for now.
There's so much suffering in the world. You never know what a person has gone through, or is going through. Try to be someone who mitigates the damage instead of someone who propagates it.
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