Did I have some kind of a behavioural problem as a child which anyone recognises?
I don’t think you had oppositional defiant disorder either. I would guess that you were just angry as a child, and that is understandable. Your mom did the very best she could as a parent, but her being bi-polar had to affect you. Somewhere deep inside you are probably still angry. It’s normal to feel angry. You are using that anger in a positive way, with your volunteer work. I use mine as a special ed teacher to advocate for my students. I grew up in a home where, like you, I was loved and not abused, but issues that my parents had made me angry. I was argumentative and contrary too. You know the nursery rhyme about the “little girl with a little curl right in the middle of her forehead”? Mom said that was my poem. Also, “Mary, Mary quite contrary.” Dad said if he said the sky was blue I would argue. That made me mad, but really he was right. I also hated feeling manipulated and still have a problem with power and wanting to be in control. I hated being told what to do. I was suspici
