Anna Wolfe

When I was 18 to 22 I (& I went to public school until
I was 17) I had long periods of angst like this. also
my mom had thrown me out so I had to work for a
living. I had clinical deppression off & on for years.
I read a book called The Psychology of Nothingness by
William J. Kraft. this is a great book, don't know if
it is still in print, but it is all about these
transitional phases of feelings of "nothingness" all
people go through. Also read The Courage to Be and
other existential psychology.
(so I got an M.A. in Psych age 26 no clue whatsoever
what to do next as my university prof dad had prepared
me to be a professional student with no clue about the
real world, so I became a stripper wherein I learned
everything I did not learn in public school. from that
world I became a single mom and hence an unschooler on
this list. Buddhism has a concept called the theory of
dependent origination: from one set of circumstances
another arises, etc.)

Short Version: The more you embrace the feelings of
nothingness and despair the more quickly you move
through them to the other side.

My still deschooling 12 year old boy still expresses
some of this stuff. Right now he spends most of his
time in fantasy game chat rooms. I read his posts and
say something good about them. They ARE very creative.
when he tells me he is worthless, etc., I tell him I
know how he feels, (THIS EMPATHY IS CRUCIAL, otherwise
he just tunes me out) but i also contradict him, and
tell him he is not worthless. then I suggest a bike
ride or something physical outdoors for us to do
together. if he says no at first, I keep at him till
he agrees. He ALWAYS cheers up after some outdoor
exercise with Mom.

(Of course, I am preparing him 6 years in advance for
the reality that I will not be able to continue to
support him completely after the age of 18. Wish me
luck.)

Anna

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In a message dated 5/23/2005 9:00:28 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
yoginiballerina@... writes:

-=-(Of course, I am preparing him 6 years in advance for
the reality that I will not be able to continue to
support him completely after the age of 18. Wish me
luck.)-=-

What makes that "the reality"?

Why 18? You could stop supporting him sooner. You could stop supporting
him now.

What magical thing will happen at 18?

Sandra




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