I got a little confused and wrote all this stuff in my introductory post, so if you've already read it under "New Members", that's why it sounds familiar.

There are several issues interfering with my life; I'll just briefly go over the ones that are bothering me the most:

1) I'm a 50 year old housewife and mother. The problem is, I never wanted to be just a housewife - which is exactly what my parents wanted me to be. I have a fairly good brain and some talents that people admire, and I really hoped I'd do something worthwhile with my life. Now I'm starting to think it's too late and I'll never accomplish anything. People condescendingly tell me "You're a mother, that's the most important job in the world!" What they don't seem to understand is that I not only don't feel fulfilled, I feel like I'm wasting my life. When my younger child graduates from high school next year, what am I then?

2) I had a less than wonderful childhood, so when someone says or does something unkind or thoughtless, I often react as though I'm being attacked. I take things far too personally - things that normal people would just shrug off. It's as though I look for reasons to push people out of my life. I once spent 15 years without any friends; then when I found some, I pushed them all away, and spent another year without friends. I found more, and have pushed away all but two of them. I'm afraid I'll do the same thing again, picking ridiculous fights with them that will force them out of my life too.

3) I've been married to the same man for 26 years, and I love him, but I'm feeling really stifled and trapped. I used to be an independent-minded person; now I feel like he has taken over my whole life. He's a good man, and I hate feeling this way, but the thought of him taking early retirement in two years and being around all the time has me feeling depressed and hopeless.

4) I used to be thin and pretty. Now I'm overweight and plain, and even though it happened gradually over many years, I'm suddenly finding it extremely hard to deal with - possibly because one of the friends I haven't managed to get rid of yet is a guy I really like.

There are other issues, like not having the energy to leave the house, and almost-constant physical pain, but I think they stem from the problems I've listed, especially the first one.

I'm turning to this forum because I'm hoping to find some actual understanding of what I'm going through, and maybe some emotional support while I figure things out.