Hi bittersweet symphony,
If it is of any relief let me tell you that I was in a similar situation few years ago. Unfortunately for me, I took anti-depressant for months before I decided to do some mediation and read some books by buddhist monks to get things in order and change somewhat my way of thinking to stay positive.

What really struck me when reading your posting is not the problem you are facing as it seems quite common as many here seem to have faced as well but it is the subject of your posting itself.

I too pondered for many months why I was different and why others seemed to not face similar problems in life or why their life seemed better than mine. I started looking at my upbringing and understood why I am the way I am. I was sent to a boarding school at the age of 7 until 12. I hated it. I used to cry, run away from the house when it was time to go back to the boarding school after each vacation. The whole boarding school experience was a torture for me. Getting beaten up and bullied by elders, hostel staffs, not being able to see my own brother who was older than me but was in another building of the same boarding school when I felt venerable. But then the atmosphere at home was not any better. My mom is depressed and has always been. My dad was a workaholic who was never home. My dad never spent much time with us or took the family anywhere and my mom complained about it a lot. They used to argue all the time. Thankfully my dad was not a violent man. I could feel that my dad expected a lot from us when we got older. He expected us to make him proud by holding some prestigious positions in jobs or by earning tons of money. Sometimes I even felt like he was ashamed of us. He was nicer to other people and kids of his colleagues but hardly cracked a smile at us. My mom on the other hand worries a lot. If I have a problem, I don’t even tell my mom and because if I do my problem will become ten times worse. She used to constantly argue and make us feel guilty. In brief, my childhood was not that great.
I sometimes wondered why I was living a lonely life so far from home. I make a decent living here. But my parents back home are quite well off. I could have a comfortable life back home. But I want to do something of my own. And most importantly, I want to be far away from the atmosphere that is at my parents place. My parents sleep in different rooms. They hardly eat together on the table. But I do see them sharing jokes and laughing a lot together. And this gives me some hope and makes me want to go visit them sometimes.