Counselors Are Born

I grew up knowing I am social and a people person. It was fun to talk to others and get to know people. Soon I realized I had particular thought patterns.

When I hear a disagreement I want to hear both sides and get to truth. I am not swayed by emotion of either party to overlook all that is really going on.

It did not take much longer to realize how much people are in pain and suffering even as young children.

Looking back I knew some friends with horrendous stories. My heart went out to them.

My dad was quiet and shy so I would gravitate to loners and out casts knowing they had stories.

I just love talking to people. It does not take long however to really listen and hear what is not being said.

Worse and maybe you have to have an ear for this but I can hear peoples pain when they talk to me. I am the kind of listening ear that can seem to drag deep dark secrets out of strangers. They feel acceptance in my presence and I ask very good questions.

Nothing to make them feel like they are being worked just insightful questions. Sometimes it helps them to look at a situation with fresh eyes.  

Often I have heard:

I feel so much better after speaking with you

I don't usually talk for hours or reveal all this to a stranger

Wow it is nice to be heard and feel accepted

I needed someone sane and smart if not wise to discuss this with

That was just in my normal every day goings on. My mother likes to say I was born talking and have never met a stranger. The truth is a little bit deeper than that.

Never the less I make strange connections, even in this day and age when we are more connected to the people in our on line circles but we do not know the names of our neighbors.

Sadly I am convinced of a quip of mine: The masses of the world need therapy. Maybe I have seen too many episodes of day time talk television. 

I have had my share of strange, to the point of discomfort, relationships. Many times there are simple communication issues at the core of so much misery people suffer.

After that there are core and key issues individuals are dealing with. The way they see the world and choose to engage it does not work for them but they are stuck right there. 

Sometimes unable to see the problem, other times simply unable or unwilling to make changes.

It is at that point they should get help. Lay or professional wisdom from someone who may or may not be involved in the relational problem.  

There is a stigma, I am aware of, about getting help or the dreaded mental health issues but a counselor is not exactly a psychiatrist. You do not have to be crazy. We all need tools to get through life.