I Just Want To Scream
In reply to Tyr Hawk (msg # 984):
Most of how you describe yourself, is very, very similar to how many, many other people would describe themselves. In terms of specific things like physical appearance or clothing choice, you'll find that many, many people with the traits you describe have something noteworthy about their physical appearance or their clothing choices. You're not alone, it's just a matter of finding those people, which the internet has made almost ridiculously easy.
And then you have to cope with those people. That's the trickier part. What that boils down to is letting stuff go, letting people make what you see as mistakes. In my experience, people who feel like they know what they're doing aren't receptive to change until what they think they know fails them, and often not even then. But before that, unless they're asking questions, they aren't all that interested in hearing that they're wrong or that there's another point of view. So, yeah, telling them that they're wrong, or offering another point of view, isn't going to gain you any trust.
And it's about trust. You're looking out for people, but they have no reason to trust that, because often people who correct others or debate what they say are trying to play social status games or control others. If you're not doing that, and I don't think you are, then you need to gain trust from people that that's not what you're doing. This will probably involve holding your peace even when others are wrong, bolstering people when they're right, and noticing when you're pressing your point harder than is socially appropriate and toning it down.
Find a good therapist, someone who won't argue facts with you, but who will get you to focus on the conclusions you draw from how people respond to you and get you to question your assumptions.
Until then, try being wrong. Start with once a day. Let a point go uncontested. Concede something. If you're not sure about something, instead of looking it up, deny yourself the benefit of the doubt and assume you are wrong. See what happens. Consider it an experiment.
Edit: To actually answer your question, yes, I feel broken but not as badly as I did before years of therapy, supported by medication.
This message was last edited by the user at 21:23, Tue 05 Sept 2017.