Gentle Comfort During Difficult Times
“These are difficult times.” One member noted during my mid-November stress management group. “Everyone is angry. People who used to be friends are not speaking. It’s giving me stomach aches.”
“I know!” Her couch mate said with sadness in her voice. “There are too many changes. I’m having migraines.”
Group members discussed their usual stressors—interpersonal conflicts, worries about children and grandchildren, work stress, a few health concerns—but on that fall morning I sensed a difference in their presence and in each person’s felt sense of his/her stress.
“Maybe it would help to talk about it,” said a group member settled in the rocking chair. “In times like these we all need support.”