It has been a tough week for me personally. Writing this post is partially to keep up my bi-weekly commitment to all of you and partially a time for self reflection. I have no new stories to tell from anonymous sources, but I will tell you a bit more about my experience than I have shared in the past.
Part of the reason for creating “The Tea” was to provide an outlet for others to anonymously share their experiences with those connected to the legal profession (lawyers, staff, managers, clients, judges, etc). I have a lot of private discussions with people struggling in legal workplaces and I wished to provide a safe space for those stories to be shared more broadly. There are a lot of hurt people out there.
Occasionally, I speak with someone and I can tell that they have a story but they are not willing to share it - even with me. Those conversations are often filled with a variety of questions about my own experience in hopes of finding some guidance on a way forward.
This week was a bad week for me. I ended up having two anxiety induced spirals which left me away from my practice for part of the week. I felt very alone. I did not immediately confide in anyone about the full extent of the matter (although I did let my team at the office know so that client matters could be taken care of in my absence). I did not reach out for help until the end of the second day. The only people I confided in were my husband and my mother.
I am feeling better today. The whole ordeal got me thinking about how hard it is to ask for help when you spend your career being the problem solver. It occurred to me that more people out there likely have questions about my experience and path but are too afraid to reach out and ask.
I have never done a public FAQ like this and tend to only answer these questions behind closed doors or in private Zoom chats, but answering these questions behind the paywall for people interested in what I have to say seems safe enough.
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