Chances are if you clicked the link to this article that you are going to understand the feeling that I am trying to capture with my words. We are the people who want everyone else to be okay. We care.
We care too much.
It is a quality that I'm incredibly blessed to have but it is also a quality that can cause me a lot of anxiety. I was constantly being told "worry about yourself" or "it doesn't involve you so don't worry about it". Easy for them to say. It wasn't that I wanted it to be about me, I just wanted to know if they were okay because I cared. It was hard to hear these words repeatedly because in my head, I was doing nothing wrong but I felt like the people telling me these things treated me like I was doing something wrong. I just cared.
Fast forward to my current stage in life. I still have this big caring heart that gets me in trouble sometimes. There is one important thing that I've learned as I've grown up; boundaries. I've hard to learn how to balance caring and my own being. It can be incredible hard to be a person who cares too much and a person who is making sure they acknowledge their own being. I've learned that balance. Yes, it is okay to care. Yes, it is okay to love. Yes, it is okay to worry. All of these things are okay. But I've learned that I can't let those emotions impact my life. I can not spend all of my time consumed with others troubles or hardships. I can have a boundary to protect my own mental health but I can still be compassionate. This boundary is something that took me 16 years to learn. I did not understand how to balance showing that I care and knowing when I need to take care of myself. I still find myself struggling with this but I occasionally have to take some time to myself and regroup myself.
I'm sure many of you are familiar with this feeling of caring too much. You know what it is like to be sitting in a room physically but mentally, you are thinking about the person in your life who is making dangerous decisions. You are thinking, but what if I was able to say something that would make them stop. It's the hardest feeling in the world. You almost feel helpless. Please remember, if everyone in this world cared as much as you, the world would be a better place. Also remember, you are important and there is someone else in the world who cares just as much about you as you do about others. Don't forget to take a step back from all the caring you do and make sure you are taking care of yourself as well.
Never let someone tell you that caring too much is a bad thing because it certainly isn't. We are needed in this world.
