Dear Romeo:

You are welcome. Beating oneself up is very, very common. I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t. Many take breaks from beating themselves up and beat others. Maybe that is what the guy at the gym did the other day.

And we fear aggression, others’ aggression and our own. We can’t help it, fearing aggression. Other animals fear aggression as well. It is as natural as can be.

So, you protect yourself best you can from others’ aggression and you engage, if you so choose, in the long, long process of muting that self aggressive voice. It takes a lot of time, a growing understanding, practice of skills, lots of practice, lots of patience with the process. The good news is that it is doable.

anita