2497: Stressfield

==Explanation==
In this comic, Jon is stressed out about all these things, like his yard needed to be mowing, his car needing an oil change, his house needed to be painting, Odie needing to be washed, Liz breaking up, being overdue on his mortgage, his credit card being maxed out, the local paper firing Jon, writing a eulogy for his mom, mentioning his shingles, paying the rent for Lyman, and not sleeping in days! But at least Jon has Garfield to comfort him.
When the author looked at the original strip, he thought that Jon was slightly exaggerating the extent to which he was stressed. He has decided to turn it up to eleven with this submission. In this process, Garfield points out in the last panel, because he sucked all the humor out of it. 
Nobody said life was a rose garden. Psychology teaches us that stress is a fairly universal human emotion. There are many causes for stress, the most frequent of which are listed within this strip - money, failed relationships, family, career, and illness. 
With this modification he made, the strip became less of a triviality of Jon's humdrum life, and instead shines a spotlight on the human psyche and the importance of empathy. Garfield goes from gleefully taking advantage of Jon's vulnerability in the title panel, to being sympathetic - to the extent that Garfield can be sympathetic - by the "punchline" panel. 
The author's take home message is to be there for those who need you. Even if they don't make it evident at first that they need you, let them know the door is open. 
Garfield can't make a joke about this in the last panel.
==The author writes:==
Not to beat the "first world problems" dead horse, but when I looked at the original strip, I thought that Jon was slightly exaggerating the extent to which he was stressed. I decided to turn it up to eleven with this submission. In the process, as Garfield points out in the last panel, I sucked all the humor out of it.
 
Well, nobody said life was a rose garden. Psychology teaches us that stress is a fairly universal human emotion. There are many causes for stress, the most frequent of which are listed within this strip - money, failed relationships, family, career, and illness.
 
With my modification, the strip becomes less of a triviality of Jon's humdrum life, and instead shines a spotlight on the impact of stress on the human psyche and the importance of empathy. Garfield goes from gleefully taking advantage of Jon's vulnerability in the title panel, to being sympathetic - to the extent that Garfield can be sympathetic - by the "punchline" panel. 
My take-home message is: be there for those who need you. Even if they don't make it evident at first that they need you, let them know the door is open. 
Original strip: .
==Transcript==
Jon: Got a minute, Garfield?
Jon: Garfield, I'm so stressed out. The yard needs mowing, the car needs an oil change, the house needs painting, Odie needs to be washed, Liz is breaking up with me, I'm overdue on my mortgage, my credit card is maxed out, the local paper fired me, I have to write a eulogy for mom. Did I mention my shingles? Oh, Lyman didn't pay the rent. I haven't slept in days! But at least I have you to comfort me.
Garfield: You know, I can't even joke about this.
Category:MadDogBV