General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I've been watching TV coverage of the earthquake in Mexico [View all]KY_EnviroGuy
(14,498 posts)I'll send you a PM soon, and appreciate your offer of a printable copy. Since she teaches reading rather than English, I think she looks for pupil's interpretation and retention more than perfection in structure.
Regarding writing, that has been an indispensable tool for me during many troubled times, along with my self-designed forms of meditation. The way I look at writing down things that bother me is that I am "exposing them to the sunshine". I'm very shy and an introvert, so letting my stuff go verbally to a crowd doesn't work well for me, although I do crave one-on-one private talks with friends. I'm glad you're able to use the tool of open speaking effectively.
I also agree that writing stressful stuff down helps detangle all those random threads of confusing and contradictory thoughts - sometimes so bad for me I go into what some might call a mental "tizzy", LOL. Putting it on paper seems to throw aside the meaningless issues. It's amazing though, how damn hard it is sometimes to drag out that pen and paper!
Quite a coincidence - I'm an engineer, too (EE). I've worked primarily as a "Mr. Fix-it" in so many different commercial and industrial domains you probably would accuse me of lying (or being Trumpish, LOL). I was a volunteer firefighter for around 8-years in my 20s and was quite obsessed with it, but had to move on to support my family. I have quite a photo album from that time buried in my brain. Many images - some good and many bad - flash back at odd times. Overall, it was a great time for me, as I was raised to be of service to my fellow man by very loving, country folks that went through the very worst of the Great Depression. I still light-up when I hear the sirens.
Your mention of the stress of that profession is correct and I know many pros that have had serious psychological issues, with many suffering from severe alcoholism and/or depression, and early death. Our efforts to put on a facade of being strong, brave men - while bottling our emotions and feelings - is a very destructive but almost standard practice. For a number stupid reasons, our society does not deal with PTSD from any profession very well at all.
We'll perhaps chat further on these topics on PM, as I'm probably way past my allotment of bits and bytes on this thread.