Wow, this is insanely relevant to my life.

In particular, it clarifies the cause of my increasing frustration with a certain associate.

Deliberately avoiding details, much of my interaction with this person feels like moving backwards in terms of autonomy. I've been feeling slightly guilty about my growing resentment, because they are (truly, from their perspective), "just being helpful".

This comment matches my experience extremely well; reflecting on the periods in my life when I've felt the best, they were often precipitated by a (sometimes involuntary) increase in autonomy - moving out, moving to a foreign country, etc.

Your comment has made my emotional state less opaque. So thanks!