Have you ever felt like you were being one person at home and another in public?  I didn't really trust that if I showed my vulnerable side to the world, anyone would like me.  I would keep my true self hidden, so  I wouldn't get hurt.

Have you ever found yourself doing things you didn't want to do, just so others would like you?  That was something I learned when I was young.

When I started dealing with the effects of growing up in an alcoholic family, I was so bound up in the fear and terror of what I had lived through as a child, that those emotions were all I could see for a long time.  Yet later I started seeing how much courage it took for me to confront those issues!

Have you ever felt like you had a love/hate relationship with a parent?  When I was in my '30s, the thing I wanted most was not to end up being like my Dad. Then I realized with a shock that I had become just like my Dad.

Has it ever seemed like your problems are bigger than you can deal with on your own? When I sought the help of professionals, it gave me invaluable insight and assistance in dealing with my carryover issues from childhood.

Have you ever taken a step forward and not long after found yourself two steps behind where you started?  At times I was growing faster than my mind could accept - I was trying for revolutionary progress.  These days, I am better off trying for evolutionary progress.

Have friends ever told you to give yourself a break?  Did it ever seem like you didn't think much of yourself?  I had that experience a lot, where someone would try to compliment me or say something nice to me, and I would find a reason not to believe them.

Have you ever felt like you're being too tough on yourself?  It often seemed like I was doing that - nothing I ever did measured up, and I would focus on the strikeout I had in the softball game, rather than the 3 hits and the great catch I made in the outfield.

Has it ever seemed like it's hard to feel happiness or joy?  Easy to feel pain, but tough to feel excitement?  I discovered that when I was growing up in an alcoholic family, every time I felt excited and joyful about something I did, I got put down or hurt.

Have you ever felt like you can't appreciate your talents the way you could for someone else? I could tell you that David was a gifted speaker, or a talented athlete, but I couldn't see the same thing about myself.