Q. My wife and I have just been recently married in Sep 05. She has an 9 year old child when she was 21 years old. She has never been away from him except for a few weekends over the 9 years and he has done everything with her. She is now 30 years old.We recently went back to my home town for a week without her son for my grandfather funeral. My home town is on the other side of the country, as we live in Canada, to it was far away. She was upset everyday, short, moody the entire trip and told me everyday that she missed her son ect.. and ...  
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Q. A year ago I moved back to NJ to be near family after living in Atlanta for 10 years. I loved Atlanta, but missed my family. My older sister suggested that I move home, and my family had been after me for many years to, plus I was ready for a change...so I did. My problem is that I'm practically miserable here. I've barely made any friends, compared to a the very active social life I had in GA, my family doesn't come see me like they said they would calling the 1/2 hour that I live from them "way out there". In fact, during the 10 years I was in GA, they only came to see me twice...I always ...  
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Q. My wife and I have been seeing the same therapist for 10 years. He claims that if we were to see different therapists we would be on different psychological levels. He also claims that 90% of therapists today are unhealthy and would not help us like he can. What are your thoughts on this? Any information would be appreciated. Thank you! A. Yes, to your first question. It is common and thought to be more efficient to do marriage counseling in separate sessions. It provides a level of comfort, in that their will be no “price to pay” for comments in the couple’s session during the drive home. I once saw a couple in separate sessions where both members had done joint sessions with ...  
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Q. In 1986, i found a puppy that had his legs taped together and was in a box on a busy road. he became my "main" dog and we traveled and depended upon each other for a lot of different needs. he was with me through a horribly painful divorce and then the deaths of both my parents. i made a painful move and lived away from family and friends for 10 years. i am a photographer and i photographed him a lot and have been very successful, financially, with the selling of his photos. so, of course, i have tons of his pictures and negatives around. he died in 2001. he was my best friend for 15 years. i never made a major ...  
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Q. I have been a very introverted person most of my life. I lived in my favorite books and avoided most social interactions. I was literally afraid of being around people. Since August of 2002 I have been fortunate to receive treatment from a psychiatrist, whose fees have been paid by the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. I have three visits left now. I have been on antidepressant medication since August of 2002. It has had a minimal effect on me; I do not jump with joy every day, but I am more optimistic than I used to be. Colors are brighter. I feel more attached to my everyday "reality" than I did before. My primary obsession now is to determine what I need and want ...  
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Q. My sister is always lying about the smallest matter. I need to know how I can remedy this disorder? I am at ends wits as the whole family is suffering and we're ready to disown her so that she can learn what the real world is all about woithout us being her safety net. Now how can we derive to the conclusion that she suffers from this illness and what realistic steps can we as a family follow to save her life. She has one child and another on the way and is only 23 years old. She is clearly not mentally syable to be on her own and I'm aware that we are spoiling her but is harshness a form of cure. ...  
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Q. I am a single mom with (I believe) great looks and wa bubbly personality. My parents are divorced. I was raised in private school all my life. I was molested by one of the elders in my church at 13 years old. The whole church thought I was lieing to this day because he is a "good guy". I would try to eat berries of trees and asprin to die. Since I was a girl, I have senced that I would die at the age of 25 or 26. I'm 26 now. I have a 6 year old boy. I want on vacation to mexico after high school, met my baby father and lived there for three years. Left him because he ...  
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Q. I have been out of work on med leave for depression for several months. I attempted suicide, then about a month later checked myself into a hospital for feeling suicidal again, then checked myself out AMA the next day. Met with the on call Psychiatrist and have been working with him ever since. He recommended ECT treatments and got me into see an ECT Psychiatrist right away. Was hospitalized for a week during the beginning of the ECT, then hospitalized again at some point after that as the Doctor felt I could potentially harm myself. It has been almost 4 months since my last ECT treatment. (I stopped at I believe the 10th one as I awoke before the paralyzing ...  
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Q: I had described my problem of being very slow in physical activities like bathing, shaving etc and in analytical thinking. Please let me know if my problem will be addressed/question answered in this column of yours. If not, I'll have to do something drastic. A. I am sorry but without more information I cannot accurately answer this question. If you are having changes in your thinking and slowed body movements and it is worrying you, you should immediately seek medical treatment and present your symptoms to a physician who can examine you in person. Good Luck.

Q. Yesterday my mother was admitted into the hospital for what is apparently a severe case of depression. My mother is 49 years old and she had a minor heart attack about 4 months ago. About two weeks after that she had to have a hysterecomy. She was fine after that. All of a sudden for the past few days she's been doing things that aren't her. She's been hiding my step father's clothing under the bed and following him everywhere he goes whether it's to the bathroom, to the kitchen, etc.. She calls my sister and tells her that there are weird things going on in the house. She says that my step father stole her car, when he's been driving her car for ...  
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Q. I feel this started picking up around 7 to 8 years ago and is just now where I'm not really sure what to do anymore. I've always had a mild issue with concentration. I have a habit of getting sidetracked etc. I'd be in class and notice that I was thinking of something totally unrelated to the lecture and mentally shake my head and try to pay attention (to things I was genuinely interested in to begin with). Some minutes later I'd notice I had dazed off and again wasn't paying attention. This would happen pretty much constantly through my lectures. At first, it wasn't too big of a deal. I was capable of only half paying attention and doing well anyway. It tends to ...  
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Q . Is it good to mix Zyprexa, Lexapro, Seroquel, and Claritin? If not what can happen to me? A. Its never good to mix your medications without supervision from your doctor. If your doctor did not advise this mixing of medications, then you should not do it. I would recommend that you do not take this combination until you have checked with your doctor about the mixing of these medications.