The sun can't always shine.

As I was on my way to class, I saw one of my students. She had been very quiet lately, and today she seemed more quiet than usual. I noticed she was teary-eyed. My first instinct is to ask what's wrong, but I hesitated because I wasn't sure what the "proper procedure" for handling this type of situation was. I asked anyway.

She told me that she's depressed and scared. She had been attacked some years ago, and her attacker is back out on the streets. She knows that he follows her every now and then. I thought that this was the reason she was feeling the way she was. I had only scratched the surface.

She has a long history of being victimized, coupled with feelings of inadequacy because she's not working, plus she feels that her children don't love her. Also, she has abandonment issues, because her husband left her recently. Whew! I almost feel overwhelmed just listing all her problems.

So I talked to her for a few minutes, and listened for a few, then talked for a few, etc... She wasn't even going to my class at that time, she just wanted someone to talk to. She was already talking ot one of the counsellors here, but I think she just needed to tell someone new.

In the end, I think I might have allowed her to unburden herself a bit, and let her know she had another ear to talk to.