Originally Posted by
StartAnew68 
Me too, not just at school. My dad was an irrational alcoholic while I was growing up. I was always being told how I 'needed' to live up to the standards of my much smarter older sister. (Quite funny when I think that in the late 1980s we both did MENSA tests and my IQ was measured 20 points higher than hers at 148).
I'm now 52 and have no self esteem. No real friends as I got in the habit of holding people at arms length and have never managed to break that. Very shy but in trying to act not shy I've come over as abrupt and false.
Me too. My dad has always had mental problems. He never drank, but he was absolutely miserable. Paranoid, bipolar, depression. I always looked for validation from him and never got it. Ever. My mom was my best friend but when I said I needed help in my teenage years they always told me "you can't take a happy pill" and ignored me. Hell I didn't even go to prom. Just went to the after party to drink.