Addy, I don't know where you stand with religion and all that, but I'll tell you something that's helped me a lot. I've ALWAYS....all my life....been put down by "some people". A parent of mine (pre-adoption at 17) always told me that I was fat, ugly and stupid...that became a constant mantra in my mind because I heard it so often. Eventually I came to even say it to myself.

Somewhere along the line, I heard someone tell me that I belonged to God and He has NEVER made junk. I got to the point in life when I began to tell myself all the time that I was fat, ugly and stupid and, after hearing the comment about God not making junk, I stopped right in my tracks and began to tell myself that I might FEEL like junk....but it was impossible because, even at that time I wasn't so sure about God and everything else, it could be true.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that, even though we feel very negative sometimes about ourselves, we have to turn that around and tell ourselves that we ARE good. No stinkin' thinkin'....I don't even know you and I think the world of you. So there!!!