Many of us would say that it’s good to care, but there’s a cost to caring. It takes resources and investment, not just financially or materially, but personally. For example, research shows that compared with the average person, depression is particularly prevalent among doctors and
especially among psychiatrists. There may be various reasons for this difference, but one factor that cannot be ignored is that the more we care for others, the more upset we will be when they fail to recover. What’s the solution? Should we stop caring so as to feel better? Should we become cold and unfeeling? Personally, I don’t think so. Feeling sad or low at times in the face of the human suffering that we are trying to relieve may be the ‘hit’ we have to take, the ‘price we have to pay’ for the kind of work that we do. We are not all psychiatrists, but we are all called to care, and it’s only a matter of time before the weight of human suffering and need will get to us. We need broader shoulders than our own to bear that weight. This is why the Christian revelation encourages us to “Cast our cares upon God, because He cares for us.” There is a Carer of the carers. Have you found Him yet?