Have you ever deluded yourself into feeling something?

I can think back on a time when I forced myself to feel a certain way about a certain person in order to get through a difficult situation. It was stupid and a lesson learned. I doubt it’ll happen again.

I’ve tried, but I’m just too practical. I’ve actually fallen in and out of love at around the speed of light, but I’ve never talked myself into it.

I had to con myself into believing that I liked a certain job just in order to stand it, which I did for only a year and a half.

No, I haven’t. Love for me has always been real. I never tried to make it happen or make myself believe that it had happened.

technically, I don’t believe this is possible. my rationale is summed up by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr:

“Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.”

Nope! Not love….The closest I can think of to this is, For the sake of a working relationship I kidded myself that I actually got on with the guy I was working with very closely for almost four years, in the end my lack of respect shall we say towards him became very apparent, it blew up in my face :-/
we don’t talk anymore….. :-/

recently divorced people have to be careful with this issue…usually, not always! After a divorce, most people are emotionally vulnerable at this time, and become confused about their feelings!

I prefer to think of it as intentional, rather than deluded. It IS possible to control one’s feelings to the point where, for example, one can be happy under any and all circumstances. : )

No, I’m too cynical and hardheaded. It took 38 years for me to realize that love was even a possibility.

Yes. I blame it on being young and emotionally weak.

It is a little scary to think that you can force yourself to feel things that aren’t actual reactions to people. It kind of changes your opinions of your gut instincts.

I tried to once. It didn’t work though. I just ended up hurting the other person by leading them on and letting them fall for me more. I’m not proud of this obviously :/

With any knowledge comes responsibility and this is no different. Happiness as the result of a decison is no less happiness than that which happens spontaneously, but when we speak of feelings toward others, we need to be awaare of the difference between spontaneously generated feelings and feelings that are little more than self-delusion. This is difficult in the extreme and requires a great deal of instrospection and self-knowledge, which makes it even more important to be as gentle with the feelings of others as possible. To my eternal shame, I too have been guilty of “leading others on.” : (

She was so hot, and so sweet. Everything about that Sociopath was hinky.
But… I just had to kid myself, until I could not any more.

An incredible experience, a wild ride. With a bad ending.

I worry most days that I am deluding myself that the person I am smitten with has mutual feelings…So many things that have happened could be interpreted a number of ways…but I usually end up convincing myself that these events point to things that I want to be true…

The other side of the coin is that if something I don’t understand happens, I convince myself that everything that has transpired before now points to there being no mutual feelings.

I am basically driving myself crazy doing this to myself…but I don’t have the guts to confront the guy.

Somedays I just wish that he would settle things one way or the other…I might be miserable for a while (if things don’t go the way I want), but at least I would no longer be tormenting myself…

@yankeetooter You have to confront that fear before too much time has slipped by!

@Cruiser I’m trying…I don’t what is wrong with me, but I freeze up like a deer in headlights when opportunities arrive. I hate being shy…

@yankeetooter Life is too short to let moments slip by being too shy. Just do it….you really have nothing to lose except time.

And my heart…and my everything, @Cruiser…:(