Many helpers, when they themselves are suffering, are incapable of accepting support, or at least receiving it easily. Yet they may be impatient with those they’re working with for not accepting aid or counsel readily enough. Chances are, if you can’t accept help, you can’t really give it. While all of this is an extremely complicated psychodynamic interaction, one thing seems obvious. The more conscious we are in dealing with our own suffering, the more sensitive we will be in treating the pain of others.
