Q: I am getting very worried that I may be married to a sociopath. He constantly states that he doesn’t care about anyone, and that he only sizes up people in order to use them. He also says this about his family and that he only uses them for money. I keep asking him why [...]

Q: I’ve been with my boyfriend three years. We have always had a good relationship and still do. He asked me to move in with him two years ago and I did. The only problem is that he lives with his parents, whom I thought to be lovely until I moved in. His father hasn’t [...]

Q: I grew up an extremely shy kid. I was an only child and lived in a big house in the woods with very busy parents. My parents were wonderful, but didn’t communicate well, didn’t show emotions, and had really high expectations. Growing up, I had very few friends and very little to no social [...]

Q: I have read Dr George Simon’s description of psychological manipulation techniques. (Editor’s note: see Dr Simon’s series on Manipulation Tactics and Impression Management and Tools of Personal Empowerment: How Not to Be Manipulated. Also see Psychopathy 101.) I believe that I match a lot of those. I can also say that I exhibit characteristics [...]

Q: I think your column is great, and I would appreciate any feedback if you get a chance to answer. My partner is driving me nuts. I’m not trusting him and I feel like he’s being passive-aggressive. When we first met, he broke up with someone he’d had an affair with. When he told me [...]

Q: I was with my ex for almost five years. We broke up about four months ago. I am finding it really hard to move on. I keep churning over everything in my mind. We had a great first year together. She had some commitment issues but worked through them somewhat. After two years, she [...]

Q: I have heard the term “passive-aggressive” many times and I am aware of some of the characteristics of this type of behavior. Some people I know exhibit what I would consider “passive-aggressive” behavior because the label seems to best explain their behavior. However, I think their behavior doesn’t really fit the clinical definition of [...]