Dear S:

You wrote that you were always nervous and scared, that you don’t know what to do with your life, that you just exist. You focus on what other people value and what other people think is the right thing to do, and follow “their” lead or what you think they think you should do. You are often angry, “like a lion at home and a mouse everywhere else”.  You downplay yourself and feel others are better than you.

You wrote that your family, your parents are always trying to help you, that you didn’t have a lot of social interactions outside of school and home growing up, that you were “protected from negative influences”.

I do have a couple of questions:

1. What were the negative influences your parents protected you from and how did they protect you? Do they still do that?

2. What did you mean by “I am not forced to make my own decisions”?

Can you give me an example of a decision in your life that needs to be made, then write what it is you say to your parents and what they say to you in return, regarding the decision that needs to be made?

anita