Years ago this sister said to me, "I have lots of things I could get depressed about, but I don't let myself." Several times, she has said that I get depressed just because I "dwell on stuff" too much. She has said to me, "Use your coping skills." Recently, she said it sounded like the psych hospital was not teaching me "coping skills." That should have clued me that she was getting fed up with me and my issues. She, herself, has a master's degree in counseling. "Coping Skills" must have been a chapter in one of her text books.

Some of these digs she's given me were times when she had called me and caught me in the midst of having a tough time. It wasn't like I was a needy nuisance, pestering her for attention. One time she heard from our father that he noticed I sounded weepy during a phone conversation we'ld had. So she sent cops to my door, without even phoning me herself. Some kind of power trip she was on.

What kills me now is that, after keeping my guard up around her for years, I fall for some sweet talk, drop my guard, trust her and, then, wham. I hate that I gave her the opportunity to hurt me again.