Main causes of stress
Working with young people doesn't stress me - it's the bureaucracy that's the problem. The main cause of my many grey hairs is dealing with the health board. That's a bit tongue-in-cheek, but just a bit. You don't get any support from statutory bodies unless you push very hard. You would think it should be the other way around. You would think they should be reaching out to voluntary agencies, but it's always a fight.
The majority of young people I deal with have complex problems that involve many agencies. You are dealing with probation officers, counsellors, psychologists, social workers, even dentists. You are rushing from one situation to another, from one meeting to another, and having very little space for yourself.
Coping with stress
I walk the dog four or five times a day and that keeps me sane. It gives time for reflection and prayer and it's exercise, which is good.
Faith doesn't help me cope with stress, but it stops me giving up. I don't understand God's ways because I believe I'm only the fellow stoking the coal in the boiler room while God is the captain of the ship. I hope he knows where we are going because sometimes I don't.
Where are we going?
There is such a lack of vision for society from our Government. People get up earlier to sit in traffic for longer, they go into work which has become more stressful, they are earning more money but it's being spent on huge mortgages, and they have less time for their kids.
People are running and running and have no idea where they are going. It will only abate when the economy crashes and jobs are lost, but that is going to be very difficult.
In conversation with Alison Healy