Your comment suggests a blog topic I’ve put off, which exactly has to do with my attitudes toward therapy. Of course, there are many kinds of psychotherapy, and my opinions are somewhat style-dependent. The sad truth is, I’ve tried counselors from a large proportion of the available theoretical stances. Along the way I’ve gotten a lot of help, but I’ve also been badly harmed more than once, and not just by medication side effects. But that’s all a long story, and not one that will fit well in a reply (I’d end up moving what I wrote into the main column anyway.) Thank you for suggesting a topic. If you watch, you’ll probably see a post soon that answers your question. I’ll be checking out your blog, too.

Warm regards.

–Will

Thank you for the support. As my long-winded response to jss made clear (methinks I protested too much?) I did not believe I was looking for reassurance. But your kindness helps, as kindness always does. I suppose this loss I’ve suffered is partly my own fault, at least in so far as I believe in retributive Karma. When I was young and stupid(er) the fact is I tended to place high premium on a woman’s physical characteristics. I overlooked many nice girls because they did not fit my visual search image. I am not proud of that behavior, though where (near Hollywood) and how (in a household where sex was glorified) I was raised made it kind of inevitable (when all else fails, blame your upbringing.) It took too long for me to recognize that superficial physical characteristics are just that: superficial. And that the media ideal owes a lot to plastic surgery, lighting, cosmetics, and searching a huge population for the 0.1% who are attractive enough for the big screen. I’ve understood all that for a long time, of course, but my distant past seems to have found me and bit me in the ass, ruining the part of my body most associated with male virility (though not, luckily, the one most associated with the sex act ) Or maybe it was just bad luck.

–Will

@shen – actually I wrote that post several weeks ago. One of my rare moments of inspiration to put the smack-down on somebody whose words rubbed me the wrong way.

In the 1800’s if you had a single tooth you were batting five thousand. If you could bathe once a month? SCORE. If you survived cholera, smallpox, and the flu-DING DING DING this man is a keeper where is the pastor? It’s marryin’ time.

You are perfect hon.

I came here because of your comment on the blogpost by jss about suicide. I suspect jss wrote that post directly in response to my blog from yesterday, but I don’t really know for sure.

I was grateful to hear your comment about how you have forgiven your mother and understand that she really felt, at the time, that what she did was in your best interest. It helped lift some of the shame from me about how I was feeling and what I was so close to doing last winter.

Take care,
S