Holy crap, Alison...good timing. This weekend I had a pretty big "breakthrough" regarding a badge I've carried for a while. I think it may help to get it out on here.
I've been in personal counseling for the past few weeks, and my counselor is pretty much the awesomest. What I learned is how much my mother's death at the age of 6 has affected my outlook on every single thing in my life.
It's bittersweet, because I've had to realize that my anxiety badge, need to constantly overachieve badge, having a no-emotions-in-this-house childhood badge and making it through severe hypochondria badge have made me who I am, and I need to deal with those. But at the same time, the badge I've worn of getting through life without a real mother figure has made such an enormous impact that I never thought about. Figuring out that I wore that badge alone has really changed me within the past few days.
Anywho...!