Trouble with being a fairly empathetic person; makes it hard to say no to anyone in pain. You start off being all assertive. Ok, I can help you for a while, because it’s an emergency, but then I have my own stuff to deal with. But then when it comes to the point you say Ok, you’re through the worst of it, and I really need to take care of myself now, then there’s the tears, and the accusations, and the sulking... and you can't say no, because you've been there, you've been the one crying and screaming. You know how much it sucks. And suddenly you find yourself prostrated on the doorstep with welcome written on your arse. And you’ve only had two hours sleep the last few nights, and you’re behind in your course readings, and you’ve barely had a moment to yourself, and you’ve had to cancel everything that could be cancelled – classes, creative time, meetings, writing decent blog entries – and you’re starting to wonder where your life has gone. But you’re too damn tired to go and look for it.
Posted by Fionnaigh at March 23, 2004 10:29 PMI don't know if this is any help, but I remembered reading this:
"You know how, when someone is drowning, and someone tries to rescue them, sometimes the drowning person panics, and grabs onto their rescuer, and pushes them under? When you’re doing lifesaving, they teach you how to hold a person from behind, with your arm around them in such a way that they can’t pull you down. Because you don’t think straight when you’re drowning. You don’t think about what’s best for you, or best for anyone else. You just thrash around and try and keep your head above the water."
From http://www.stonesoup.co.nz/ecoqueer/archives/000374.html
Posted by: iona at March 24, 2004 09:28 AM