Yes. I feel like she shoots down all of my self-perceptions, even when they aren't off-base. If I say I feel stupid because I have a hard time speaking sometimes, she says I sound pretty articulate to her. Even when I'm stuttering and obviously have a hard time finding words. It would not hurt for her to say, "Yes, you sometimes do have difficulty speaking, but people who know you know you are smart."

I think she has distorted view of me, but it's not in one direction. Like, I think she thinks I'm more handicapped than I am in the socialization department. But when it comes to self-care, I think she thinks I'm doing better than I am. I accept some responsibility for the erroneous conclusions. I don't volunteer a lot of information about myself and I do kind of wait for her to ask questions. But when I do speak about myself, she tells me I'm wrong. So I don't know how to fix this.

No, I don't want to stop. I love creating and I love giving away what I make. The former connects my mind to my body and takes me to another dimension, psychologically. The latter makes me feel connected to people and goodness.

I don't want to stop, but I don't assume this means what I'm doing is *right*. When it's all I think about...when I can't keep track of bills because the mess is so much...I think I have a problem.

I actually *sell* my stuff on the street, on a vending table once or twice a month. I let people pay whatever they want or take something for free with a promise to give it away. So I have channeled it into a productive, if not profitable, endeavor.

Perna, you've given me a lot to think about! Maybe I am trying to fix the wrong thing. It's just that I'm sensing my therapist is looking at her watch, so to speak, and I want to be more proactive about *fixing* things. Being so intense and self-absorbed seems like the main thing I need to fix. But perhaps I'm thinking about this in the wrong way.