I liked what Alffe said, too. But then again, I usually do. The part about "spare me the labor and show me the baby" was good.

Doody, what you said reminds me of someone else here on the forums. I won't give any names, but she likes to swing around in trees and likes bananas.

She always says that when she starts to feel bad, she remembers all of the other people here who have it so much worse than she does. I try to do that too, and often it really works. But like one of my doctors told me, the fact that other people may be more miserable than you are doesn't make your own pain any less. So maybe sometimes I'm too selfish, but there are times when I can't seem to get out of my own head, so to speak.

I have found that anytime I can help someone else, it always makes me feel better. Sometimes I feel desperate to find someone who needs my help, just so I can give it. But I wouldn't feel right in just saying meaningless things to people for the sake of my own feelings. Does that make sense at all?

Anyway, what brought this all on for me, I'm embarrassed to say, is the fact that I'm getting close to a thousand posts here. I know a lot has been said about that from time to time. I have actually been posting a lot less the past few weeks because I feel anxious about becoming a "senior member". Is that silly, or what? Still, it's got me bothered.

There's a few people here who know that I'm going through a lot of problems right now, only some of which are medical. But only a few. I'm way too embarrassed to talk about it "in public." But I shouldn't be, and I know it. So that's the crux of my problem. What everyone here has said has been very helpful though, and gives me plenty to think about. So again I thank you all!

Idealist