I blurted out..... "What do you think of me? Do you think I am bad? Do you even like me? And depending what you say to that, is there anything I could do or say here that may change how you see me now?" FLIP!!!

After he said he was "choosing to withhold his answer" while he tried to get me to talk about why I needed to know, I tried but it was a mess......I just withdrew even more. I couldn't look at him, couldn't talk....felt soo stuck. It was a nightmare, I just wanted to leave. Eventually, after me not talking for what felt like forever...... he told me "Jane, I care about you, I like you and I want to help you. I see that you feel you have such deep emotional scars that are so ugly that if you show them to anyone, to me, that you will be judged as badly as you have been in your past. ......" And more, but I blanked out and just was fighting back tears, so I can't remember anything.

How? How do you get past such a strong urge to protect yourself? Does anyone else struggle with this, or is it just me? It can't be right?