Hi Anita,

Thank you so much for your thoughts. They were incredibly enlightening as always. I never actually thought of questioning my therapist or asking her why she gives the advice she gives, as silly as that sounds. Next time she says something that I don’t necessarily think fits me, I will ask her why she suggests this. I also really appreciate your suggestion of abandoning the idea of intuition altogether. I hear so much about how people should be “intuitive” these days, and I’ve tried so hard to be so, but I think my anxiety is really what I’m feeling. I only ever seem to feel “intuitive” about fears afterall…..

My parents were good parents in the scheme of things. They gave me food, shelter, sent me to good schools, etc., but they are not at all emotionally supportive and can be very critical. For example, when I was struggling postpartum with my newborn son (in hindsight I believe I had postpartum depression/anxiety), my mom’s response was always that I should stop crying, get over it and count my blessings. Aside from this, there is an issue between my sister and my parents (basically my parents do not like my sister’s boyfriend for really stupid reasons and have made it known that he’s not welcome), and it looks like my sister might eventually become estranged from them. Even though it’s not my issue directly, it saddens me to see my family so dysfunctional and to see my parents so upset when I am visiting them over the issue (even though my parents are being the ridiculous ones). Why do I emotionally care so much about my parents when, logically, I know they are flawed and in many cases, very wrong? Oi vey!

I will post soon about the 2nd child issue. Just want to get my thoughts all together 🙂