Dear Brooke, please would you let me know how you avoid feeling other people’s pain? I do some volunteering and work as a mentor for young people (aged 9-15). So I walk alongside them & support them in finding their own solutions to solve problems, feel better & recognise how amazing & unique they are. Whenever someone stumbles, I feel pain. I am able to separate my own feelings of failure and responsibility and do thought downloads and models on that. But their pain and confusion is tough. Do you think my role is to help them move through it to learn and thrive (that is my rather lofty aim…) as it is through mistakes that we learn a different path? What if they can’t change their adverse circumstances? Examples are (1) a row with a mother leading to drink & drugs and ending in hospital, and (2) a courageous attempt at a youth performance that crumbled due to a perceived unappreciative/unsupportive audience resulting in the young person running home humiliated. I really think so highly of these amazing kids and would love to be able to better support them without my own feelings getting in the way. Thank you!