this helps a ton, thank you so much. i never thought about her being able to open up to me that way. i’m grateful that she feels comfortable enough to, she has some issues trusting people in general so that is a big step.

and wow, the way you described problems being “unique” is spot on! she’s acknowledged before that everyone does make mistakes, but hers is different and of course 10000x worse. she’s said she feels alone (just as you said) and like an outcast whenever she’s around other people.

thank you so much again for all this info - i think those are all the questions i’ve got for now. i’ve learned a lot just from your responses and i’m gonna try my best to be there for her in what ways that i can. i’ll take the tiny little wins as they come and hopefully they will encourage her, too. (wishing you the best as well!)