I sure hope so. It wouldn’t surprise me if they somehow find a way to get in on the action, though.

Ah, gotcha. I’m sorry I missed the subtext and took things too literally.

I’ve always took him as a bit of a blowhard, but it’s been interesting watching his existential crisis about the fall of the Republican party since Trump won the first time. I’m surprised he’s still trotting himself out there for PBS at this point.

David Brooks has been a regular guest of PBS News Hour, so it’s not surprising he was there. He’s been the conservative representative for Politics Monday for many years. His counterpart previously was Mark Shields, and is now Jonathan Capehart.

You’re very welcome, and I’m glad it was helpful. I’ve heard such great things about EMDR! I hope it’s helpful for you. I was in therapy working my way up to it for a while, but my therapist never came back from maternity leave and wasn’t able to refer me. She was awesome, though, and I’m sure I’ll be able to pick back up where I left off.

Try to be kind to yourself. You’re clearly doing the work, so I hope you reap all the rewards.

Hi friend, fellow member of the ACE high score club here. I also find the simplification of these kinds of topics triggering. It’s hard to see people boil down the complexities of CPTSD and other childhood trauma-related conditions in ways that can feel cold or indifferent to the challenges that come from living with them.

The frustrating truth I’ve found is that both things can be true at the same time. We didn’t ask to be born into a situation that changed our developing brains so much, and we didn’t sign up to carry the consequences of the choices our caregivers made on both our bodies and our minds. It’s not our fault this happened, and it’s not fair that we should have to work so hard just to appear “normal” to others and be accepted by them.

Unfortunately, though, the naked truth underneath the pain is that, regardless of how fair it is or isn’t, it’s up to us to address the reality we find ourselves in. We have to do the hard work that got dropped on us if we want to live in a way that isn’t agony all the time. There are people available to help, but no one else can save us. It’s like managing any other diseases that randomly pop up and decide to ruin lives. No one asked for MS, either, but they still have to either address it or do nothing and suffer.

I completed a year long CBT course, and it was really hard at first. It focused on maladaptive behaviors that impact how you treat others. Much of it discussed anger or rage toward others and how to look at your emotions differently so you don’t harm your relationships. I’m very skilled at masking, and my FFFF response is fawning most of the time. Because of this, I got frustrated about thought these lessons didn’t apply to me. I already know how to contain my emotions and play nice with others, I thought, so what is this doing for me?

Over the months, I realized I was saying and doing all those damaging things not to the people around me, but to myself internally all the time. I was taking all my anger, resentment, pain, and feelings of inadequacy on myself. It hit me like a truck. I absolutely did need to learn that material, I just didn’t see where I needed to apply it.

I’m sorry for the long diatribe, but your comment really resonated with me. I could feel your suffering as I was reading. I just wanted to share so you feel supported and understood, and I hope you’re able to make progress and find some peace as you continue to navigate this. If you’d ever like to talk, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’ll be thinking of you.

I basically grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere, and I’ve been a night owl since I can remember. When I was in early grade school, probably second grade, I was up late and excited to find a cartoon being aired in the middle of the night. It was the animated rendition of Animal Farm.

It freaked me out, but it also planted a seed. I wanted to figure out what that story was, and it led me to explore other classic literature. I’m grateful for that.

Do you really want to fix this, though? Take a step back from the emotions and look at the whole picture.

If you do start a relationship with this man, this is the foundation you’d be building it on. He’s already shown you that he has issues respecting your physical boundaries and with communication. How do you expect a conversation to unfold in a way that would “fix” this? What could he say that would make you feel like his behavior was acceptable? If he said those magic words, should you even believe them?

I know it’s rough out there dating-wise, but don’t settle. And when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.

God’s perfect killing machine is the pinnacle of cat “breeds”. It’s heartbreaking seeing people do to cats what we’ve done to dogs with selective breeding for purely cosmetic traits.