Dear sossi:

You are welcome. I agree with this: “a great deal of people’s mental issues can be caused by the negative choices made by others”- there is a lot of harm caused by individuals and groups of people who are in the position of power over others, starting with parents and other adults who are in the position of power over children, and later,  by employers who are in the position of power over their employees (and without the protection of strong labor unions), all the way up in the ladder of power to the many political leaders in the position of power over millions of people who have caused many millions of deaths, severe emotional and physical injuries and lots of suffering. It is very difficult for me to hold this reality in awareness. I wish it wasn’t reality.

There is another undeniable reality: because there is so much aggression in the world, physical and otherwise, often beginning in childhood, there are many, many people who imagine that they are being verbally and emotionally attacked when and where this is not the case, misunderstanding/ misinterpreting other people’s words and actions as aggressive.

“the anger I feel has been burning me up. It’s unfair! But I have to keep my mouth shut… when someone pokes at me on a daily basis like it seems this family member just has to, it sends me over the edge. He is playing with fire”- I wonder what you mean by him playing with fire?

anita