Dysfunctional Independence

The dysfunctionally independent person often....

...is exhausted, because they are "superman" who insist on being self sufficient.
...rarely asks for help. They are too scared, proud or arrogant to accept help. (They are also terrified of being in someone else's "debt").
...is hopeless at receiving. They rarely let anyone give anything to them, and when it does happen, "guilting" is a common response.
....tends to prefer their own company, keeps everyone else at an emotional distance, including sex partners.
...finds any form of intimacy unfamiliar and frightening. It is impossible for them to be both independent and intimate.
...thinks being free is being single or on their own.
...appears cool, because they are cut off from their emotions and feelings.
...tries to heal on their own. Self help is the way, physicians are quacks to be avoided and all therapists are charlatans. They won't open up to anyone.
...are often in competition with everyone else because they will not join in with anyone.
...Atheism is their revenge on God. they are dissillusioned because God didn't see it their way.

Adapted from, "Shift Happens" p. 47-48 by Robert Holden.