Who died and left me in charge?

Why is it that so many of my friends, particularly my female friends, see me as some kind of agony uncle? How did I get such a reputation for being able to give advice about emotional issues and stuff?

I mean, surely anyone who knows what I'm like with my blogs here, or responses to other blogs, must know that I'm just a walking bag of neuroses, and the only advantage I have over most walking bags of neuroses is that I know each and every one of those neuroses well and generally know how to deal with them so that they don't fuck me up and I can pass as normal! (I'm reminded of a moral in Terry Jones' book Erik the Viking, "We aren't afraid of fear - fear is an old friend to us, familiar and even welcome." I guess I'm like that with a lot of my emotional issues...)

Is it that these women see me as (to quote Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) their "girl friend who knows guy stuff"? Is it that I just talk (or type) as if I know what I'm talking about and give an air of confidence that suckers them into thinking I actually do have a clue about emotions and stuff? Is it that I'm actually a much better listener than I think I am? It's just unthinkable that I do actually know emotions and stuff, because when I'm faced with a big emotional crisis of my own, I just go completely to pieces, it seems to me, and surely if I knew what I was doing, then I'd have a much better handle on how to deal with it?

I mean, it's nice to have people who respect my opinion on matters to this degree, and to be someone on whom people feel they can rely in troubled times, but I feel like I'm out of my depth most of the time and I always have this nagging feeling that maybe I'm going to give some piece of advice that just totally fucks things up for someone I care about deeply.

The thing that really gets me is, I've explained all these concerns and anxieties that I have about my agony uncle role, to all the people who turn to me in that role, and yet they still think I'm the one to turn to in a crisis! I'm always happy to offer what help I can, of course, and if they find my mad ramblings to be useful then I'm glad to offer them. Just... why do they choose me? Who died and put me in charge?