Dear Harry:

“Overthinking and ruminating,” living in your head- that was me. I am still thinking a lot, but now I understand my heart a lot more than I used to.

As a teenager and much of my life I was very lonely, anxious and depressed. When I wasn’t over-thinking and ruminating, I daydreamed about having a love relationship and being popular.

If I could go back to being your age, this is what I would do:

I would do everything possible to attend Individual Psychotherapy with a competent, empathetic therapist.
I would look to attend Group Psychotherapy and Support Groups.

In these three settings I would be relatively safe because the therapist should be (better be!) kind and respectful and if it is group therapy, then the therapist should see to it that everyone acts respectfully toward the others. Support groups have rules of conduct for all participants so to maintain respectful interactions.

This is all I would do, if I was you- explore these three possibilities. The purpose would be to communicate about my feelings, to hear others communicate about their feelings and so, to grow connected to my own heart. The more I understand my heart and listen to the messages behind my emotions, the less I live in my head and the less I over-think.

anita