Caring About People Is Exhausting

Lyd

Lyd

SugarBabe & Challenge Fairy
I'm so exhausted!

The seven-year-old daughter of a family friend passed away yesterday after a 4 year battle with leukemia. I'm just so sad about it, and I've been crying off and on for the past two days.

Here's a video sweet Millie's family made recently, if you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RROMOL-BxRk

My own kids have been kind of whiney and demanding the last few days. And, I find myself getting irritated with them. And, then I think about how grateful I am that they are here with me, healthy and happy, and I feel guilty for being irritated with them. And, then I get teary again. Ugh!

Life is just so unfair sometimes, and it hurts to love people. But it also feels SO good to love people. So, I'm on an emotional roller coaster, and it's exhausting. Just needed to vent.
 
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So sorry to hear about this little girl. I can relate to the mental and emotional exhaustion that comes with caring so deeply about people, even those you don't know. {{{Hugs}}}
 
Hugs... it is hard... especially to think of someone so little, and near the age of our own little ones... :crying: The family is in my thoughts and prayers!

LeeAndra - thanks for posting that link... i'm going to have to research more, that sounds very much like me, too.
 
Thanks girls. <3

LeeAndra - that was a really interesting article. I'm not an introvert (I'm shy, but people energize me), but I do think I am highly sensitive. It's just been during the last year that I've realized how much auditory stimulation affects me. I've been having a really hard time at church in particular. I would come out of our main church meeting and feel like I was in a daze. It would seriously take me several hours to feel like I was back to myself. And, people who tried to talk to me or ask me questions in the meantime probably thought I was "weird." I finally realized that it was all the aural stimulation during our first meeting that was doing it to me. We have an unusually high volume of little kids in our congregation, so the room is rather noisy to begin with. Then, I have my kids yapping at me and bugging each other the whole time. And, I'm trying to follow what's actually going on in the meeting. It makes me want to crawl in a hole and hide.

I have to admit that since figuring out how much that affects me, I've been able to handle it better. But, it's still hard. In general, I've always been really sensitive. I feel things deeply and empathize with others quite strongly. In many ways, I think it's a good trait, but it can definitely interfere with normal emotional function sometimes.

I'm still amazed that, after living with myself for almost 40 years, there's still a heck of a lot to learn.

ETA: And, the example in that article about not wanting to ruin a friendship by sharing an apartment . . . that's exactly why I won't join carpools with my neighborhood friends. It wouldn't be pretty. :)
 
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:( :( :(
I watched part of the video. I'm in tears. I know what they are going through. I lost my son suddenly almost 3 years ago. It's not something that heals.

Hugs for you and the family.
 
In recent years, I've had two of my grandparents pass away, and I remember very distinctly both times thinking how exhausting grief is. It's not one of those things you would expect, but it definitely is true.
 
ricslady said:
:( :( :(
I watched part of the video. I'm in tears. I know what they are going through. I lost my son suddenly almost 3 years ago. It's not something that heals.

Hugs for you and the family.
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HUGS to you!! I just can't imagine losing a child. :crying:
 
That is so heartbreaking. My thoughts are with you, Lydia, and that little child's family. xoxo

That article is so me, LeeAndra. Thank you for posting that. Now I feel less weird. :) I never knew there was such a thing.
 
Oh my.... I watched a few of their videos. I can see my Ben in her... I can't fully imagine their pain but the part I can imagine hurts. :( Big hugs, Lydia. You are a good friend to bear their pain and mourn their loss.
 
More hugs from me Lydia and Rics. I just can't fathom that pain.

I am also a superintrovert and way too sensitive. Work is so stressful, an office full of great people who just wear me out and a super fast pace, that I will find myself praying on the way in and all too often crying on the way out. I finally just accepted that crying in the car is my stress relief. It's probably weird, but it works.
 
Any loss whether within your personal family or those around you are always hard. Makes you appreciate all you have and think about ways to make sure your own family never have to go through that loss.

Hugs and prayers to you as well as to your friend's family.
 
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