Compassionate Listening

Posted on July 20, 2015 in Bipolar Disorder Compassion DBSA Support Groups and Conferences

Sometimes I have an appetite for fixing people. When I do, I make it a point to shut up and listen for a while. (Or if it is a know-it-all who devalues my experience, find something else to do for awhile.) Everyone’s experience is different; I do not have all the answers. You will not hear me tell people in group the “true” motive behind their suicide attempt, what their character flaws are or hint at them, or give advice about experiences that I have not had (vicariously through a book does not count). I can only share my own story and that might not have anything to do with a person’s struggles. Compassionate listening is the true mark of a sage, I feel; and I am still not very good at it.

It is best to keep one’s ego small in these matters. Mine needs to go on a diet sometimes.