Thought for the Week

Timothy D. Stein, MFT, CSAT

August 25, 2014

Don’t put your finger in an epileptic’s mouth.

The instructor of a first aid class I attended explained that you should never put your finger in the mouth of someone having an epileptic seizure because they might bite it off “and then you can only help 9 more epileptics.”  Helping others is important but it requires self-care on the part of the helper.  If you help others at your own expense, you are no longer a helper; you are now a martyr.

Do I consistently place others’ needs ahead of my own?  What would change if I started to practice self-care?  What would helping others while also taking care of myself look like?