We often choose a friend as we do a mistress - for no particular excellence in themselves, but merely from some circumstance that flatters our self-love. ↗
I mean, they call it Stockholm Syndrome and post traumatic stress disorder. And, you know, I had no free will. I had virtually no free will until I was separated from them for about two weeks. ↗
Often when a person can't get past stress, she will turn to overeating, drinking or smoking, which can become a greater problem than the stress itself. ↗
I also think stress is related to control. When you're in charge of your life, you tend to not care about losing control of things that don't really matter like traffic jams. ↗
I never wanted to separate from either wife. It was accumulated stress. We had virtually no time to ourselves. After politics we were both working very hard to establish new careers. ↗