How They Made Me: the unwanted biography of an imaginary child

How They Made Me

the unwanted biography of an imaginary child

By Sean Vincent O'Keefe

I was born in Rome, Italy, September 22, 1972, to American parents, whose faith-based marriage and parental prospects were most remarkable for my father's immorality and my mother's resentment. This is the story of how they made me crazy.

Moses sits pensively, his grand tablet of commandments tucked under his right arm, aside. He is flanked by two women. Do they pray with him? Though well lit, his face is dark and brooding, contemplative. His brow is furrowed, as was my mother's. As is mine. He is conflicted. Is it his words and actions that are at odds, or is he genuinely concerned that others are not living God's commandments? By virtue, is he a failed commander? He ruminates with anger.

Control is a fallacy cloaked in many forms.

Anxiety

Anxiety is an emotion that can feel like dread or fear in the face of an anticipated threat. It's a normal reaction to stress, but anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive or persistent feelings of anxiety.

The tension of confusion is perhaps the most difficult tension of all. It pulls in all directions, sending thoughts spinning wildly. With enough anxiety, sustained and reaffirmed by suspicion over time, it evolves into something more.