Comfort Inward / Dump Outward

Often when I meet with clients and families going through a stressful time, they are especially exasperated about how to manage the reactions of their friends and families.  Often their support network does not seem so... supportive.  It's easy to feel helpless and to worry about saying the wrong thing.  It is immensely difficult to see a loved one in pain, and sometimes the natural venting of this pain gets misdirected at the person or family actually going through the crisis.  Enter the Ring Theory!  This is a lovely reminder to pour comfort inward and then to process a reaction with people in outer rings.  This article, written by a therapist who had cancer, is a great read for those needing to set boundaries with loved ones as well as those looking for a way to help.