Thanks Marmaduke... and that's really interesting that for you, the self-esteem issues came about from being ignored as a child. That's how I describe most of my childhood too - my parents really didn't seem to have any interest in being parents (especially after a certain point) - they just checked out, completely.

I remember talking to a friend about his kids, years ago, and him saying that he sat one of them down and lectured her for about an hour. I was shocked... I can't remember my parents ever doing anything like that. Yelling, yes. Lecturing? Nope. Having a conversation? Nope. Telling me anything about how the world works, giving me any sort of advice or help, listening to what was going on in my world? Ha!

I think this stuff ends up being so hard once we grow up. I'm lucky that I've had people point it out to me and help a little here and there throughout the years. I don't think it magically fixes everything, but I do think it helps to start noticing when you're coming up with interpretations that are very negative and may not be true, and learning how to "reality check" them when you can.

*hugs*