[Ben]

The toughest thing is that even if you stop talking about it to other people -- which you should stop doing IMMEDIATELY to save yourself a lot of time and frustration -- is that it's difficult to function socially on the same wavelength as "normal" people do. Optimism and having a generally pleasant attitude about life and the future is pretty much a necessity to getting along with people. It's also difficult to relate to people whose goals are to have 2.5 kids, a white picket fence and to make partner someday. I think it's worth the effort to try however.