Re: Family and close friends

[Anonymous]

Hi, I just want to jump in here and say that I have not even told my family. I am 56 and I honestly don’t think I have the strength to deal with it if it doesn’t go well. I have not ever been able to count on support from them. This is not to say that they have not been supportive — they have, but not always, so I cannot count on it.

The past few years I just feel sick about what could have been. I have tried a number of carreers only to get to a point where I needed something explained to me and NOBODY would help me. I still don’t understand office politics or social interactions and no matter what kind of work I have done, eventually I got hurt because of it. I would lose the job, get transferred (once I got transferred to 3 departments within 1 week), or I would just flounder until I failed.

It gets harder every year. At least when I was young I had more energy and hope. Now I feel scared about a lot of things including memories. I will hear something on TV that reminds me of something from my past (could be about anything) and that will lead to a chain of recollections that actually leave me in physical pain.

I get angry and if I express my anger I am told I am over-reacting. If I don’t get angry, whatever I say or ask for, gets dismissed.

What is the right way to ask for help? How do you get people to believe that you simply cannot figure out how to get some things done? That there are problems you cannot solve on your own?

I cannot ask my family for help anymore. I don’t have the strength. The last time I asked to be shown how to do something my mother said: Figure it out! Nobody ever showed me! It made me cry.

I have a near genius IQ. I graduated from one of the best colleges in the US. I have been the regional cost reduction coordinator for a huge company, I have written novels (never published), and even been an editor for a literary magazine…..now I am nothing. I am broke, out of work, and in desperate need of insurance.

The sad part is that I cannot even imagine having a conversation about my situation with anyone in my family.

Sorry to have gone on and on for so long.

Bremtitude — I give you credit for actually talking to the people in your life. I am sorry that they were dismissive. I know it hurts. But you are braver than me so you’ve got that.

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