I saw a bus ad for The Dr. Phil Show yesterday. It had a big picture of Dr. Phil, and the tag line, “The Safe Place to Talk about Hard Things”. And I thought: Is The Dr. Phil Show good TV? Maybe.

Does it normalize mental illness and reduce the stigma of asking for help? One can hope.

Is it the safe place to talk about hard things?

No way.

There came a time in this social worker’s life when I began to need a reaffirmation. I enjoyed the work, sure. I felt fulfilled knowing that I was being helpful to other human beings on a very deep and honest level. I can’t even imagine life as a computer programmer. But, as with any job, there are difficulties.