What percentage of your friends and relatives are nuts....

...and are you a ton more sane than they are. How do you not let them get you down?

For me it is a balancing act, because if you point it out, you are the jerk, but if you keep it bottled down, you end up hurting yourself. Right?

Tue. Aug 22, 9:18am

What percentage of my friends and relatives are nuts? I was just thinking about that before you wrote. I'm about to conclude 100%. I'm beginning to think we're all dysfunctional. And if they are all dysfunctional, then I probably am too.

How do I not let them get me down? Well, like Jim Carrey once said, "Barnes and Noble has named their self-help aisle after me." Seriously, I have a collection of self-help books that would rival that of any small town library. One that has helped me a lot is The Feeling Good Handbook by David D. Burns.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006, 9:46 AM

Most are nuts; some are REALLY nuts!

Tuesday, August 22, 2006, 10:24 AM

I'm the one who's nuts in my family.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006, 10:30 AM

Well, if you asked my family I'm sure they'd all tell you I was nuts and of course I think it's them ;-) I do think we all have our individual quirks, but there are a few on my mom's side that are bona fide 'out there'. Depression and alcoholism have really taken a toll on her immediate family and have been extremely unkind to some members more than others.... :-(

Tuesday, August 22, 2006, 12:08 PM

My mother-in-law is a mean, nasty, crazy person. At first I was shocked because I had never met anyone like her. Then I thought that once she got to know me, she would like me. I kept my mouth shut. I was overly nice to her and tried so hard to get her to like me. She continued to be incredibly mean to me -- if you've seen the movie "Monster in Law", that is sooooo true to my life. My mother-in-law cancelled our hotel for our honeymoon. She walked down the aisle after our wedding saying very loudly, "This is the worse day of my life," for all the guests to hear. It was very embarrassing. For about 12 years (while we were dating and early in our marriage) I kept my mouth shut and my self-esteem slowly was eaten away. After my second child was born, my mother-in-law came to visit to see the baby (it was about a month after the birth). The second day she was visiting she started to say her son should have never married me, that he should take the children and leave me, that I wasn't a good cook, etc., etc., etc. As I sat there listening to her I realized that she would never change. It was her problem, not mine. I completely told her off. I told her to get out of my house. I told her she was a hateful, mean person, and I didn't want my precious children around such a bitter woman. You should have seen her face! It's been almost four years since that time and she hasn't been mean to me since that moment! Stick up for yourself! Never let anyone tell you what or who you should be -- decide for yourself what your life will be and be true to only yourself. I learned a valuable lesson -- don't EVER let anyone step all over you.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006, 12:15 PM

Oh, they all think I'm nuts because I have a master's degree but work with my hands and love it. They also think I'm nuts because I don't want babies. Both these things have freaked out my old friends, who have abandoned me (strict but hypocritical catholic types). My family pretends I'm normal because I make more money than any of them, so they keep me sweet for future loan potential. At least they think my brand of nuts is kinda cool sometimes.

As for the extended family - 90% of them could fall of the face of the earth, and the world would be a better place. They're way nuts, way useless, and yet they go around judging other people like they have the right ear of god.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006, 12:18 PM

They are all nuts in my cirlce... I like it that way.... because I am too!
No seriously, Telling them they are nuts, could be hurtful..... So maybe just find the "one" thing you want to discuss with them..... Good luck

Thursday, August 24, 2006, 1:37 AM

i learned that if you have one certifiably-psychiatrist-diagnosed nuts person in your extended family (my aunt), it makes everyone else look much more "normal." without her, i think the rest of us might be labeled nuts. but we can always fall back on her as the crazy one.

Friday, August 25, 2006, 4:48 PM

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