Kitchen Table Psychology

Everyone's insecure. Well, almost everyone. I haven't evaluated everyone in the whole world, but I don't think I've ever met a single person who wasn't insecure in some way. It seems to me that any time we think about a person's strange or annoying or seemingly inexplicable behavior, it comes down to insecurity. The person who makes jokes at inappropriate times probably does it because he is uncomfortable with the serious conversation or setting. The control freak is afraid his world will fly apart if he loosens his grip. The overly permissive parents fear their children won't like them; the over-protective ones are terrified that something bad will happen. Teens feel that they don't fit in, aren't dressed right, may look foolish, may be rejected, or any host of other doubts. The boisterous person may be afraid that he won't be noticed; the shy person may worry that she will be noticed and that someone will find out how unsophisticated she really is. The argumentative type probably fears that he'll be proved wrong. The snob may not speak to you because she's afraid you won't speak back. The man who spends too much money wants to make sure everyone thinks he is highly successful. The tightwad is afraid he'll go broke. We don't trust the water or the air or the government.

Somehow believing this, that everyone's insecure, helps me to accept myself, and even more I think it helps me to accept others. After all, we all have pretty much the same struggles, don't we?

Coming soon (or not) from your Kitchen Table Psychologist: everyone's nuts!