Dear Rideeta:

I think that your “Anxiety and Depression in college” (topic of your current thread) originated in the months and years when you witnessed your mother and father fighting a lot.

When they fought a lot, I imagine they screamed at each other, maybe for a long time every time they screamed, their voices loud. I imagine they said words that were scary for you to hear. You were there, at home, but home was not a safe and warm, comfortable  place.

Fast forward, you meet this young man of a different religion. He wanted you to practice his religion and you courageously refused to do so: “I could not get married and pretend to be someone else for the rest of my life” (Aug 2017).

Problem is that after you decided how to not “pretend to be someone else”, you didn’t figure out yet who you truly are, that is, there are some things about your life, particularly your earlier life, that you don’t want to see.

Will you tell me more about sixth grade, maybe earlier, when your parents fought: how was that experience for you?

anita