Q: My husband and I have differing opinions on this subject and I thought perhaps I'd ask for another opinion. My husband and I have been married for nearly 8 years and have 4 children. He is very social and finds it very important that he spend time with his friends and co-workers. He goes out between 4 and 8 times a month, sometimes drinking heavily and oming home between 2AM and 4AM and sometimes drinking moderately and coming home between 10PM and midnight. He also has season tickets to see our local football team play for which he leaves at 6 AM on game day and returns at 9PM that evening. (These football games often interfere with family holidays including Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.) ...  
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Q: > My parents wanted to help but would't let my decisions for my son be. They manipulated his staying with me as a child and then coaxed me to send him to them. Then they coaxed me to be a better mother and take care of him myself. My father has passed away and my son was sent to live with his father after he spent some time in my parents home. He is now 18, unwilling to help himself and not motivated to complete necessary steps to move on with his life. No job for long, therapy completion needed to get in to the army and my mother took it upon herself to let him back into her home. His dogs ...  
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Q. I have reason to believe my husband is either schizophrenic, or suffering from some kind of schizo-affective disorder. Although not a doctor, I was in pre-med, and have continued to increase my knowledge by keeping track of medical journals, and reading university textbooks. My husband was admitted into hospital last year, in the psychiatric ward, although i was never informed of his exact condition. There are literally hundreds of little incidents, but briefly - Despite the fact that I was halfway across the world, he claimed that I was there in the room with him talking to him. He thought he was Jesus, re-incarnated - and suddenly became really paranoid, convinced that the government was spying on him. He would go to do ...  
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Q. Thank you for your concern. I do see a therapist and he is wonderful, but fortunately he is not to familiar with eating disorders. Where I come from there is little about eating disorders. I also see a doctor who specializes in eating disorder. She and my therapist want me to go to the hospital, I do not want to go, I had such a bad experience. They put a feeding tube in me against my will. I am so scared to eat. I also feel that when I get to a weight that I'm happy with I will be truly happy. I do not know what that weight is yet, but when I get there I will know. I am currently at 89 ...  
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Q. I have anorexia nervosa. I have not had anything to eat in 2 weeks. My psychiatrist just put me on abilify. One of the side effects is weight gain, that's why he put me on. I want to know if I can still gain weight from it even though I am not eating. I am so scared of gaining weight that I do not want to take abilify or any medication with a side effect of weight gain. A. I am not really sure exactly how Abilify works but I do not think you can gain weight just from taking the medication without eating. I believe Abilify works to increase the appetite. Not eating for two weeks is extremely dangerous and ...  
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Q: From a 16 year old boy: So - I’ve been dating this girl for about 2 years. I’m younger then her by only 1 year and at the beginning it, of course, was like any normal high school relationship. Then after a while I began feeling like I liked her a lot more then I would like a girl normally (not sexually mind you, Just really liked her.) She said she had been feeling the same. Well, lately when I talk to her, or kiss her, or hug her it doesn’t seem to have the same effect on her. When I say "effect" I mean it seems like she is just going through the motions. We haven’t had sex yet because ...  
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Q: My boyfriend of 4 months has paranoid schizophrenia. I am not sure how to deal with this issue. At times, he seems normal and I can't even believe that he suffers from mental illness, but sometimes he talks about nightmares that he has and how he does things out of the norm. I have to admit that the whole situation scares me, mainly because I don't know what to do or how to handle it. Should I be concerned that he will harm me if he has one of his episodes? How can I help him feel reassured? A: You are in the early stages of a relationship. It is absolutely appropriate for you to be thinking about these things. When chronic illness is a ...  
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Q: I don't know why, but for some reason, I am afraid of sex. I know I have a deep seated belief that men only want women for sex, ultimately. Oftentimes I think about sex and I laugh because the whole thing seems ridiculous and awkward to me - desperate to "get off" which is so unappealing to me. I know however, that this is not the case always. A year ago, I got out of a 4 year relationship where sex was a big issue. He was upset that we didn't have it very much and I didn't want to sleep with him because he didn't make me feel like sleeping with him. Sometimes, I would just let him have sex with me, but ...  
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Confidential to Tenn husband: You and your wife are both experts in coping. You soldier on. She escapes into fantasy. But I’m afraid the way that each of you copes individually is hurting the other. I strongly suggest that you ask the oncologist for the names of therapists who work with cancer survivors and their spouses. You both need some support and help in looking at what you want out of your remaining time together. Confidential to NY grad: It must be painfully ironic to find yourself in such a melodrama. Love shouldn’t be this hard or this crazy-making. I hope you care enough about yourself to get some good help in this very difficult situation. An experienced therapist will give you much needed support while ...  
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Q. Thank you for answering. Although I see what you are saying, it is hard to feel it. Actually, I never had a happy life, and that is what makes it more difficulty. If I would ever submit myself to a hospital, would my private doctor be still able to treat me? Would I have to accept to talk only to the hospital's doctors? How that works? Thank you for your time. A. While you may never have had a “happy” life, it is likely things were not always this bad. You were, not that long ago, a college student with a 4.0 GPA in your fourth semester of school. Something was going very right for you at that point in your ...  
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Q. I am lost. I feel I have reached the point of no return. My grades suffer. I had 4.0 and I fell to 3.75; it is the fourth semester I drop and that was my last semester before I transfer. I lost my financial aid, scholarships, acceptance to the university of my choice, and the faith my professors had in me that I can succeed. Everything is lost and everyone (I do not really have anyone, but a couple people I know -- including my therapist) seem tired of me. I am so lost! I am in therapy for two years for depression, and I have experienced what my doctor calls dissociation and depersonalization. I took 40 sleeping pills two years ago, but I ...  
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Q. I had no insurance and still struggle daily due to that. II made poor choices years ago and am now struggling with the fact that I have 2 felonys on my record. I have had no problems with the law in over ten years but the past still haunts me with finding work and even a place to live. No one wants to hire or rent to a felon. Some places policies are very strict with no option. So there for why go to school to get a degree when there is no hope. I am stuck in a job that makes me miserable and has no future. If i get injured Im worhtless. No health ins etc. I struggle with a gambling ...  
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