I Feel Like an Outsider

People come to therapy to either work through a past or current problem. Part of the work includes opening up to the therapist and sharing intimate details of their life, sometimes even talking about things they don’t feel comfortable discussing with anyone else. Often times people feel as though they’re the only ones struggling. Here’s a glimpse into things that I’ve either felt or heard over the years:

• I am not married

• I am in credit card debt

• I use food for comfort

• I don’t like some members of my immediate family

• I am depressed

• I second guess myself constantly

• I like being alone

• I pay way too much attention to Facebook and get caught up in other people’s lives

• I am not as religious as people think

• I feel stuck in my life

• I do not have children

• I am afraid of intimacy

• I am in so much pain

• I think about having an affair

• I am a jealous person

• I am lonely

• I am having marital problems

• I don’t want to do this (living life) anymore

• I hate the way I look

• I get anxious in line at Whole Foods

• I think I gossip about others so I can feel better about myself

• I want to run away and start over somewhere new

• I feel guilt for all that I have

• This is not where I expected to be in my life by now

• I use social media to make others think I’m doing better than I am

• I feel like no one understands what it is like to be me

Maybe you can relate to something on this list or maybe you can relate to one of the many other things I didn't include on here. I can guarantee whatever it is that makes you feel like an outsider is something that someone else somewhere is feeling too. People are ashamed to talk about negative feelings but it doesn’t mean they don’t feel them. You are not an outsider. You are not alone.