I'll just add that being a parent has the effect of suddenly twisting that knob to 11 and PINNING it there unexpectedly.

Which of the characters do you think is speaking the alt-tag?

I read it as the honest answer the first one avoided saying.

I tend to read the alt tags as Randall's voice rather than the voice of a particular stick figure.

I did like that one: the twist from "Let's be honest" meaning "I'm going to say something cynical or unpopular" to that level of honesty that isn't about "look at me, I'm so edgy, I'm going to explain why I'm doing something selfish."

*nods*

I would likely shy away from having one of those conversations with, say, a priest, though in the Platonic ideal, that's what they're supposed to help with.

I have taken questions of utter unmooredness and confusion to a paid professional, which did help some.

But there's a framework that's closer to taking it to a few friends, that actually provides enough sensible boundaries and parameters for a discussion, that I think is worth mentioning: a <a href="http://www.couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/clearness-committee>Clearness Committee</a>. That linked writeup describes something considerably more formal than anything I've taken part in. But I can't speak strongly enough about how useful it is to have a few people who are able to listen without trying to explain, solve, or fix.