Understanding Secondary Stress
Launch library · evergreen read
Secondary stress can build up gradually in supporters exposed to someone else's difficult experience, even without going through it directly themselves at all. This is a quiet but essential part of supporting others well over time. This is worth treating as seriously as the support you give to others. It reflects genuine, sustainable care rather than short lived effort.
Recognising this as a genuine, valid response, rather than something to push aside, allows supporters to seek the care they need too. It is a genuinely reasonable thing to prioritise for yourself too. It helps sustain the very support someone else is relying on from you. It is worth protecting, even when everything else feels urgent right now.
1800RESPECT is on 1800 737 732, and Lifeline is on 13 11 14, both available any hour for supporters experiencing this. Support is there for exactly as long as you happen to need it. It is completely okay to take things one small step at a time. Whatever you are feeling right now is reason enough to call.