[DazedandConfused254]

I am inquisitive about the subject of feelings and their validity, as in recent times I have endured much hardship and needless suffering as a result of people failing to understand me. Although I have been in the process of being built up by people who have praised my ability to share my feelings and have attempted to make my way of seeing the world my own through professional counseling and meds for anxiety, I still need support and an encouraging word, and so that’s why I am looking to you guys here on this forum. So this is a long post but here it goes …. I have a very close relationship with my family members, and when I was younger I often looked to them for encouragement when I faced a situation that stressed me. As I have grown up and life’s problems got harder (lost first job in Cali, conflicts with classmates, etc) however, those same family members have frequently told me that I am being “too dramatic” and “too offensive” in response to seeing me upset or angry. They even went to the extreme of telling me that I would not make it in college, albeit I have since graduated, continued on with grad school and have been very happy and successful with my experience. With the sense that I had nowhere else to go, I have vented more frequently on social media, only to have lay people report my posts to my closer family and friendships, starting rumors and creating unnecessary worry in my closer circles. Further adding to my pain, I formerly attended an abusive church who controlled me right down to my musical tastes, the people I spent time with, and of course, what I shared to my close friends and mixed groups. A few fellow church-goers even stopped talking to me when I was struggling with hardship and simply wanted open up when I started hitting a rough patch in my life (see parentheses above). I experienced isolation due to the feeling that I could not share my daily happenings or struggles with friends without offending someone. Since then, my heart seethes with anger due to feeling forsaken by the ones I love, and have only recently started seeking friend circles and my hobbies again. Because of my previous negative experiences: Are my feelings valid, or just an expression of my stupidity?

[Thunder Bow]

Your feelings are valid, just be selective who you share them with. Religion is all about Control, as you just proved here.

[DazedandConfused254]

Originally Posted by Thunder Bow

Your feelings are valid, just be selective who you share them with. Religion is all about Control, as you just proved here.

Agreed. I have already seen elements of control when posting this question in Christian-based forums and presenting it in Christian circles, so this is a relief for me to see. Thanks!