13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do by Amy Morin

house and a good job with a reputable company. He also had a lovely wife and two healthy children. But Dan had a secret.

He despised attending parties where he had to hear about Michael’s impressive promotion or Bill’s brand-new car. It angered Dan that his neighbors could afford expensive vacations and the greatest toys on the market. Ever since he and his wife had decided that she should quit her job to become a stay-at-home parent a few years ago, money was tight. His efforts to keep up the appearance of financial abundance had left Dan deeply in debt. In fact, he was keeping secrets from his wife about the extent of their financial problems. But Dan felt he needed to keep up the charade that they could financially compete with the neighbors, at all costs.

Dan decided to seek help when his wife told him he needed to do something about his short fuse. When he initially came to therapy, he said he wasn’t sure how therapy could help. He knew his irritability was caused by the fact that he was so tired all the time.

And the reason he was so tired was because he had to work long hours to pay the bills.

We talked about his financial situation and the reasons he felt compelled to work such long hours. At first, he blamed his neighbors for his long workdays. He said they all prided themselves on having such nice things that he was forced to keep up with them.

When I gently challenged whether he was “forced” to keep up with them, he agreed that he didn’t have to, but he wanted to.

Dan agreed to attend a few more therapy sessions, and over the next few weeks his resentment toward his neighbors became apparent. When we explored some of the reasons why he was so angry with his neighbors, Dan revealed that he had grown up poor