I wasn't really raised to appreciate things and I don't think my parents were either. So being extremely judgmental and dissatisfied became my default frame of mind.

As a teenager and going through all the brain changes that go with that, it was like my judgmental mind went into overdrive. It was pretty late in life that I developed an appreciative side to balance my critical side.

Put two very judgmental people together and you get some idea of how my relationship with my father was. I blamed my father for many things and even for my depression although a head injury following a bicycle accident might have been the cause of my chronic low mood.

It wasn't until I was educated in cognitive psychology that I was able to get some distance from myself and see the good points about my father. Sadly he had already passed by that time. Now I have a more realistic picture of my father. I often dream of him.