Wow! What an insightful discussion. I've been lurking on the boards for a few months (too shy to post) but this series of posts really opened my eyes. Rapunzel - you expressed everything that I've been dealing with (and thought had handled) for over 20 years. We go on about life thinking we're seeing things accurately and perceiving people as they truly are, when, at least in my case, I'm bringing 30+ years of judgments and loading them onto any new person that I meet, expecting them to see something wrong in me (as I see in myself) - and at the same time I'm closing down any possibility of a friendship that might have had a chance.

I've been in therapy on & off for 10 years now and *distortions* have been an issue but I never realized HOW MUCH they affect my daily life.