"When the bill came, it sat on the table for a while; neither of us touched it. Eventually, I picked it up and asked if she wanted to split it, and she said yes immediately. I was caught off guard because she had clearly said beforehand that she wanted to treat me, so I hadn't expected to pay. It's not about the money"
"I've been a therapist for over 20 years, and while I've found deep meaning in helping others heal, lately the work has become emotionally exhausting. I listen to people's pain all day, and I can feel it sinking into me. Sometimes I come home completely depleted, with nothing left to give to my own family or myself. I've tried taking breaks, going to supervision, even attending therapy myself"
A person felt awkward after a new friend who had offered to treat lunch agreed instead to split the bill, creating uncertainty about whether the offer was sincere or forgotten. The person did not want to make things weird but wondered whether to clarify the mismatch in expectations to avoid future tension. A therapist with over twenty years of practice reports growing emotional exhaustion from continually absorbing clients' pain, arriving home depleted despite breaks, supervision, and personal therapy. Persistent depletion suggests a need for clearer boundaries, deliberate self-care, and possibly structural changes to reduce burnout.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]