I feel so much the way you do!!! I am in the professional world and sometimes, it feels like at any moment, somebody is going to come and tell me “it’s a mistake, you don’t belong here.” Everything I have earned is going to get flushed down the toilet because I am not really a professional…I belong in the “other” world.

I find that most of my friends struggle with mental health issues—I think I relate to them better. They seem to be so much more in touch with their feelings and are better able to understand me. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.

One thing that amazes me is our level of compassion we have for each other. You sound like you have been through the wringer and yet you show such compassion…maybe it’s the compassion we have for each other that draws us together. If you think about it, you are a pretty amazing person, you have triumphed in a world that threw a lot of crap at you…who would not want to be your friend? Maybe some people who are a little superficial? No, they don’t want to hear our story because it would ruin their idea of the world.

I have decided that my professional life is my professional life…it is something I have to do to make money. I will never totally be accepted there because the “professional” people will never completely know me. That’s okay because I have plenty of other friends who know me, accept me and love me.