Adapted from a recent online discussion. Dear Carolyn: I can’t seem to get out of this pit of negativity about myself. I only hear the negatives people say about me; for example, I had a huge presentation at work, got several genuine compliments, and all I heard was one person’s very mild criticism that I …
Hi, Carolyn: My mother-in-law has very unkind things to say about my ex-sister-in-law, and, as a woman, I deplore how my brother-in-law handled his divorce. I am really struggling with my relationship with her. I just don’t trust her. I can’t help but feel if I were in the ex-sister-in-law’s shoes, she would be talking …
Hi Carolyn! I love my girlfriend, who is the most amazing person I’ve ever met. I just can’t seem to avoid being selfish and doing things that end up hurting her. A few months ago, she found out I had cheated on her, and she left. In that time, I realized what I had lost …
Adapted from a recent online discussion. Hi, Carolyn: I went on a weeklong trip abroad with a friend of mine. We are 27. On the trip I saw a different side of her: She was mean and at the very least insensitive, and I can’t figure out why she acted this way toward me when …
Dear Carolyn: I need some help setting boundaries with a friend who has a hard time reading social cues. She regularly interrupts and talks over me, dominates conversation with stories about people I’ve never met, continues texting after I say I’m going to bed, and overstays her welcome when she visits. For example, I say …
Adapted from a recent online discussion. Dear Carolyn: I am chronically ill but work full time and am literally able to do little else other than work and take care of my home. Socializing is exhausting for me, doing it out of the house more so, and even when it is wholly limited to weekends, …
Hi, Carolyn: Please help! My husband fights with everyone online and he can’t or won’t stop himself. These are charged times, we all know. My husband spends hours arguing with strangers in the comments sections of articles and friends’ posts on Facebook. He frequently diverges from the topic at hand and the threads spiral into …
Dear Carolyn: I’m a college student dating a very nice guy who happens to come from a wealthy family. I really like him, we get along great, we each contribute equally to the relationship, and we see eye-to-eye on many things. However, the financial differences between us have begun to take a toll on me. …
Adapted from a recent online discussion. Dear Carolyn: Valentine’s Day is coming and once again my husband will do nothing for me. He said, after we got married four years ago, he shouldn’t “have to” anymore. This was a huge shock since, when we were dating and engaged, he would take me out to …
Adapted from a recent online discussion. Dear Carolyn: I have a dear friend who won’t allow anyone to say anything bad about ANYONE. My youngest son was trying to make a point about one of his teachers, who treated him like dirt — we as parents got involved as well because it was concerning …
