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Archive for April, 2005

Body image, self esteem, eating disorder

Monday, April 25th, 2005

Q. Lately I've been gaining weight, due to treatment for long standing Anorexia Nervosa, and it's been devastating to my self esteem. I have been unable to find any sort of psychological treatment in my area specific to anorexia, so I'm pretty well on my own as far as body image issues are concerned. My treatment consists of medications for depression, nutritional counseling, and general psychotherapy, with a new therapist whom I like, but who has never before treated an anorexic. After months of nutritional counseling, I had finally gotten to where I could usually meet my meal plan goals -- which are still about half what it will be in the end -- but now I've gained a lot of weight, ...  
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Chronic stealing, like it will make me feel better

Monday, April 25th, 2005

Q. I have been on anti-depressants for 6 years. Cause PTST. I have recently had the compulsion to steal. Mostly books, but sometimes cosmetics. I have boxes of books. Mostly not read. The ones that i have read i keep. My husband would like to get read of them, but i feel if i need a particular one I wouldn't be able to find it. I am going to get caught ultimetly, law of averages says so. I've been chronically stealing for about 2 years. How do i stop. I cannot tell my husband, we've just got things back together from some other emotional issues from my childhood problems. i'm afraid this ...  
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My fiancee is dangerous-what do I do?

Monday, April 25th, 2005

Q. I think my fiancee has a borderline personality disorder. I have been with my partner for a year. She is 23, very attractive and of Afro-Carribean parentage. I am 43, white and pretty much an average guy (I think). We were introduced by a mutual friend and the 4 of us shared a night out together. Since then she wil not spend even a couple of hours away from me. She gets into verbal conflict very easily with everyone, including me, and once she gets there she is incredibly aggressive. In the past 2 weeks she has threatened me twice with a knife and once with a hair spike. I have ried to leave the relationship but she starts ...  
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Sleep walking/ sleep disorders

Monday, April 25th, 2005

Q. I have read about sleep walking and sleep disorders. i have a boyfriend who i am in a very serious relationship with. there have been about 3 or 4 times after a night of drinking where i woke up to him doing inappropriate sexual things to me. it seemed as though he was sleeping and when i woke him up, he didn’t remember anything that happened. i want to believe him, and i think i should. my question is there are sleepwalkers, but have you ever heard of anything like this before? if so, how can i help him? A. Yes, I am familiar with this type of behavior. It’s not voluntary, neither is it abnormal. Waking him up ...  
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Stop taking meds for bipolar disorder because I feel better

Monday, April 25th, 2005

Q. I have been taking meds for bi-polar d/o for years. Sometimes, I will stop taking my meds because I'm feeling pretty good and have some stupid false sense of being able to beat it. Anyway--last time I got outof control manic (I actually like the manic stage unitl it gets out of hand), but I knew it was coming, yet I did nothing about it. I had a psychotic episode (I have had them before, but never admited it for fear that I would have to be hospitalized) and was put back on meds, promising myself that I would never go off them again. WEll, here it is—and I know that I am not taking them like I should, and ...  
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Why do people spread rumours about me?

Monday, April 25th, 2005

Q. Why do people spread rumours about me? I am glad that I found this fourm. All my life I have been the subject of the rumor mill. I am a shy guy who tries to do the right things. I believe in dealing with people as fairly as possible. It has been hard for me to understand why people would spread rumors about me. When the rumors are place side by side that just don't add up? Let me tell you all of them. In high school and college, I was a virgin. I would like to have had sex with the person I married. I express my views and it was well known. However, some people spreaded a rumor that I was ...  
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What are my chances for survival after several suicide attempts and cutting?

Monday, April 18th, 2005

Q. I am wondering what my chances for survival are, percent wise or something. I am only 17 and have attempted suicide 3 times, been hospitalized once for 6 weeks, and have been a cutter for 2 years. I have an excellent support group, but I would just like to know what the odds are that I'll live, like what my chances of committing suicide are or accidentally hitting a vein while cutting. A. The odds are excellent that you will accidentally hit a vein and actually die. Cutting is not normal and you should seek professional help for this problem. There is help to deal with the emotional pain that is causing you to cut. You are engaging in very ...  
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Overly sensitive / paranoid

Monday, April 18th, 2005

Q. I have always been a sensitive caring person. One of the ways people describe me most is sweet. I try to not hurt anyone's feelings in anything I say or do. I can honestly say I always think before I speak. My main difficulty is that I get hurt and or angry very easily. It can be over something as simple as someone I know passing by in a car and not waving. I always internalize these things and automatically assume I have done or said something to make them angry, or that they don't like me. I try to rationalize to myself that I am being too sensitive, and try to consciously think of ways to handle situations like this differently, but ...  
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Is there a way to retrieve an old memory?

Monday, April 18th, 2005

Q. About 6 years ago i went to a club and i was bought a drink by a man and as soon as i drank it i don't remember anything and the next thing i knew i woke up and i was locked in his house and i knew things had happened from physical evidence. i never told anyone at the time, and though i have since discussed it, it continues to haunt me. I am just wondering, do you think that the memory is there to come back, is there any kind of therapy that is particularly helpful for this situation, is it possible to retrieve what happened? I just want to know what really happened is all. A. Hypnosis might ...  
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Life is Losing All Meaning

Monday, April 18th, 2005

Q.Hi. I am a 25 year old woman and have come to an epiphany. For all of my life I have probably been depressed, or just plain unhappy at least since I was 8. As a kid, I knew something was wrong, but my mother would ignore me when I told her I needed help. So, as a kid, I was shy and insecure and that didn?t help it when kids would tease me to no end. And my family life wasn?t that great either. My mother and father would fight viscously, always calling each other names like stupid, worthless,etc. and once I witnessed my father beat my mother. I always felt my parents were in a loveless ...  
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Should our sex life change after marriage?

Monday, April 18th, 2005

Q. My fiancee and I are having a disagreement about how our sex lives should be once we're married. I believe that while couples should have sex on a regular basis, it should be consensual - even when people are married, no one should feel they have to have sex when they don't want to just to please their spouse. He says he thinks that whenever one person wants it, the other person should always satisfy their needs no matter how much they don't feel like it. What do you think is the best way to maintain a healthy relationship? Please advise. Thanks! A. Sex is a touchy issue. From his perspective, he’s right and from your perspective, you’re ...  
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Help for my friend Susan

Monday, April 18th, 2005

Q. Help for a friend I have a good friend, Susan, who is in her late 40's and suffering from some form of mental illness. She has been in and out of mental hospitals for a number of years. I don't know her condition well enough to comment other than that at times she seems very clear and rational and at other times "delusional". I think she has a problem, but a problem that can be treated with the right professional help. Unfortunately, she is unemployed and has no one, other than her parents, to rely upon. Her parents has tried unsuccessfully to put her in a mental hospital on several occasions, but Susan managed to never quite finish her treatment. Susan hates the ...  
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As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is.
-- Proverbs