Originally Posted by passthru

If there is no role model, of whatever type, throughout childhood, then that formative phase of life has lacked instruction. Yes, adults know which route they should take, but that doesn't mean it's easy. If that's what you mean, I think just saying 'angst' is putting it lightly. There can be a lot of pent up anxiety, and shoving it all down by choice can be tough. I had to teach myself that my troubles are specific to my persona, and seem so bad because they're pushing my limits. Anybody else could feel as bad or worse, because the extreme feeling of the situation is determined by comparison to previous experiences. So, the severity should be dealt with, not acted on, because you can't know it is truly as bad as it feels.