My therapist has been trying to discuss this topic with me over and over and now that I'm reading this post it is finally clicking with me. A lot of times in therapy, I will talk about "other people" and how easy it is for "other people" to ask for help, be vulnerable, be social, etc. and she'll frequently stop me and remind me that I am also a "people".
I haven't been conscious of it up to know, but now I realize that for many years, I have not counted myself as a member of the human race. For me, I feel like the rules that apply to "other people" don't apply to me. I guess I feel defective in some way or that I am just very different from "normal" people. It's very hard for me to put into words.
I also grew up extremely isolated and my father had a deep distrust of, and sometimes even hatred, of "other people".
Rainagain, your post really resonated with me too. I always feel like an outsider and further that I will never be in the "in" crowd.
It seems my therapist's approach is just to keep reminding me that I am a person. I don't have to learn to be a person--I already am. She always validates my feelings and lets me know that they are normal.
So, Jazzy, it seems you are very far ahead of the curve in that you recognize these feelings in yourself. I don't know, maybe it's just a matter of catching ourselves every time we start exempting ourselves from the human race and over time we'll get out of the habit??
