Add a newfound fear to the list, one I had not considered until it happened to me:
Fear that a request for support will turn into a change a relationship, a change for the worse.
- A friendship that cools.
- A coworker or supervisor who no longer wants to work with you on choice assignments.
- A minister or deacon who no longer trusts you to work around children.
One of these has happened to me, and the thought that any of them can has made me reluctant to talk to certain groups of friends about a wide variety of topics. To make matters worse, sometimes perception counts more than reality, and some people you thought were friends won't take time to hear more than a 60-second sound bite before forming an opinion that there is something "broken" about you, an opinion that may take years to change back.
-David, "d"
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