Can listening to and helping other people with their problems a lot cause you to become depressed?
If you haven’t yet, then you must learn to master the art of listening with detachment. People have problems, and they probably see you as a sympathetic listener. And that’s precisely what you should be. You should sympathise (or rather empathise) with their situation, and be an attentive listener. Often, the act of unburdening onself on someone who can keep your confidence is sufficient to lighten the heart, and your role is to facilitate just that. If you get emotionally involved, it will cloud your own judgement and lessen your own effectiveness to help. What’s most important for you is to keep your own balance while trying to help the other person pick up the pieces of his/her own life. If you find yourself getting depressed,you should either train yourself to handle the situation dispassionately and with equanimity, or politely decline to help. Remember, a doctor cannot afford to wet his handkerchief everytime a patient dies. So it is with you in your role as confidant.
