Do you think you avoid love? You may wonder why anyone would refuse or reject an experience that seems clearly so positive and life-affirming. Those who are denied love by forces outside of their control can become wholly depressed. If caring and compassion lie right in front of you, do you sabotage it?

Do you know someone who is emotionally distant? Have you been trying to get close to them? People tend to withdraw when they are overwhelmed by sadness. When we are stressed, it’s often hard to feel anything but anxiety or pressure.

Whether we realize it or not, we humans are made of emotional states. What is your temperament? Do your moods fluctuate like the weather? You think you know what you need or want, and a moment later, you come to realize that you are not quite as fixed as you think.

Do you sometimes feel as though something is wrong with you, but you’re not quite sure what or why? Perhaps you feel as though you don’t “belong” or that your feelings don’t truly matter to anyone. We all yearn to be loved and even protected.

Did you ever have an unexplained feeling of emptiness? If you feel lonely or disconnected from others, please start by acknowledging and accepting those feelings. Allow yourself to feel heavy emotions. It’s all right.

You may think of yourself as someone who is just being honest. But do you complain or criticize too often? Do you grumble and gripe incessantly about the state of the world? Perhaps you find yourself talking about how great things were “back in the day.” Speaking of which, back in my day, people used to take photos with other people in them. Sure, we all had a playroom growing up. It was called “outside.”