Help!!!!

It is a very confusing conundrum, as to how much you can help people. Are you supposed to help to such an extent you fall into the same quicksand your friend is in? I have experienced that the aftermath of this can be very stressful.
Then the next question comes in almost immediately. How astute are you to grab a rope and climb out of the quicksand you have fallen in? Also do you pull yourself out to safety or try to help others out first. If you choose the first way, at what stage are you going to be called selfish by people. If it is the latter people may say a good few words about you. But how much of use is it to you? I personally think that there must be a solution to this with a price to pay. I am petrified to know what the price is.
This is what Douglas Adams has had to say about trouble.

"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair."

The irony of this is that I changed my signature in my email to the above quote as a joke, but it doesnt seem funny anymore.

Current Song : Knocking on heavens door. :).. talk about irony again.