August 05, 2009

Emotional Coaster

The thrill of riding a coaster, for me, is the anticipation of the next turn and the drop that is so fast I come out of my seat. The part I don't like is the jerk that comes out of nowhere that seems to serve no purpose. The ones that jar my body so that I know the next day I will be sore.

Crazy making people in my life are just like that coaster for me. You know the behaviors of the crazy maker? The ones that tell you something -- and you are certian that is exactly what they told you -- only to say they never said it? Or they listen intently to your concerns or feedback, even telling you they are really open to feedback, only to turn it around and leave you thinking maybe you are crazy and they are actually the victim?

I have certainly minimized the crazies in my life but once in a while one of them will pop up and I am faced with dealing with it again. Lately my quest has been simply been to take them each as learning experiences. I believe they make me stronger and more educated. Many of the craziness comes with the territory of my job. And to the dismay of many, I'm sure, I am speaking of the staff.

My career choice, not dissimilar to paying for admission to the amusement park then standing in line in 100 degree heat for that coaster, perhaps.

Deep breath. It starts again tomorrow.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is amazing what kinds of people you run into in this field, I know exactly what you mean. Once you think you've seen it all.....

Paula said...

For the past ten years while I have been doing counselor burnout training I have often wondered the reason there is so much dysfunction in this field. I don't know if there is more dysfunction than you might see at IBM or if we just recognize it more because of they kind of work we do.....and what can be done about it? I wonder if schools would be willing to require more introspection during the course work? Can we rule people out or require them to go to therapy or do their work? I don't know the solution, but unfortunately, I know the problem.