Teen without friends blames her parents
DEAR ABBY: I’m a 16-year-old girl, and I’m pretty sure I’m the most insecure thing on the planet. I always feel self-conscious. I feel like everyone, including my closest friends, don’t like me or care about me as much as I care for them. I try to distance myself from people so I won’t seem annoying or clingy, but that has left me socially deprived.
I always feel like a burden to everyone and like everyone who is nice to me is only doing it out of pity.
A lot of this “no one likes you, everyone hates you” paranoia comes from my parents, because when I was younger, they said it to me repeatedly. I only have a few internet friends. They’re the only best friends I have, but unlike me, they have lives outside of the internet. I’m the loser. Please help. — COMPLETELY WORTHLESS
DEAR COMPLETELY WORTHLESS: Please do not compare your life with the lives of the people you know from the internet because the information can be misleading. In an online world, everything seems rosy because people are less likely to post about their disappointments.
In the real world, let me point out that parents are supposed to support and encourage their children, not belittle and
denigrate them. Because you need more mentoring than I can offer in a letter or a column, I hope you will discuss your issues with a counselor at school who may be able to help you receive professional counseling to overcome the verbal abuse you have experienced at home. Please write me again and let me know how you are doing because I care.
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