(((((((((((( hugs to everyone who read this )))))))))))))

Jerrymichelle, although I went to collage at the usual age, I gave up after completing the requirements for a double major, and walked the stage with my class but didn't actually graduate. I was depressed and hopeless and since I didn't get accepted for a master's degree and everyone said there was nothing I could do with a bachelor's in my fields, I thought the whole thing was worthless. I spent 13 years telling people that college was a waste of time and money and all I got for it was debt that I'd never be able to pay off since I never had a decent-paying job. I hated the annual social security statements that told me how worthless I was, and would always compare and observe that my student loan debt was higher than my lifetime earnings. It still is, because my student loan debt went up significantly. I did go back, finished my BA, and got a master's degree. I'm older than most people just starting careers, but there were people older than me in my classes too. And I've noticed a bilboard announcing a lady who graduated from collage at age 94. I guess it's never too late.

Vickie, thanks for sharing your story. You have faced a lot of obstacles without knowing what they were. I've known that I was depressed for a long time, but it was never adequately treated before recently. And I thought that personality disorders were just superficial stuff that didn't really have any significance. I knew that I had a couple of them, but didn't see that as my problem. I didn't know that my personality disorders were severe and were the root of my depression. Social and environmental factors, like with the girl in the story, are also important. It's hard to understand how she found people to believe in her, and never gave up on herself. But her challenges aren't over - she still will have to learn a new way of living and overcome whatever lastilng effects her childhood must have on her. But she will have help, because it's easy to see that a girl who grew up the way she did isn't going to have it easy. She had to learn to take care of herself early in life, and to teach herself. I didn't have the chance to learn to take care of myself because my family prevented me from it. And that is much harder to explain or understand.

Good job making your recovery a priority. I've also spent a lot of time in therapy, and reading and doing workbooks and working on recovery. And it is worth it.