This is something we tend to work on our entire lives Hope/Gymgirl. No one really has it "in the bag" so to speak and if they tell you they do, they are not being honest.

I think the key is figuring out the things you practice that can make you vulnerable and do your best to make changes for yourself so you are not so vulnerable. We are vulnerable in that we are all human and in that are prone to making mistakes or misjudgements. And quite honestly, many are raised by parents that practice behaviors that we come to think as normal that are not normal and these lacks in our parents can contribute to our being vulnerable before we even really understand what that really means.

Gymgirl, you tend to keep knocking on doors of individuals asking them to give you something they will NEVER know how to give you. Some people are NEVER going to be available to anyone and there is nothing you can do to change that.