I really should not have blamed my son's financial success on the economy because that's making an excuse and I think when we make excuses for ourselves or others, we are holding ourselves and the people we love back.

Artchic, I know you have a lot to overcome but you can do it. It's Monday so pick just pick one thing that you are going to work on today.

Thanks for sharing so much about yourself, even though this is an anonymous forum, that is really brave of you. You really do seem "normal" and "smart" to me so I think you have a lot of potential to make improvements in your life and just need to get started.