Q: For some time now, everything seems to have been falling apart. My father left when I was four and my mother remarried a few years later to my stepfather. My stepfather had an alcohol problem: every time he drank, he verbally and physically abused my mother, even after my mother became pregnant with his [...]

Q: I live with my boyfriend, and when he does suspicious things and I confront him, he tells me that I’m not confident and that I need to work on my self-esteem. He says that he sees suspicious things with me as well, but if I’m going to cheat I’m going to cheat. He says [...]

Q: I’m a sophomore university student. It’s known that university students love hanging out with their friends and meeting up with new people and interacting with different types of people. But I’m not one of those students. I try my best to stay away from my friends and colleagues. I don’t try to interact with [...]

Q: So I’m really really insecure. I can never believe that people genuinely like me, and I always end up messing my friendships up. How do I be less insecure? Also, I have trust issues… A: First off, well done writing in with your question. That took some courage. Perhaps it also took a sense [...]

Q: I react very poorly to criticism. Trust is difficult for me, and I have rarely felt that someone truly cares about me. I am afraid of rejection to the point that starting a friendship (or worse, deepening a relationship) is extremely difficult for me. I dislike arguing, crowds, and leadership roles. I also dislike [...]

Q: First of all, thanks for your service. I’ve been searching about my condition, but it doesn’t seems to fit into any specific disorder. I was an incredibly happy child and also quite active; I was diagnosed with ADHD at five years old. Also, I’m a very intelligent person, which was clearly evident since my [...]

Q: Recently I’ve gained weight again — it’s not much, but for my height and my figure, gaining weight is a disaster. I’m studying in another country in university, and when my mom came and saw me, she said she would “help” me in losing it (weight). The problem is, that all she is doing [...]