Collene

I've always had low self-esteem and I've been trying to stop worrying about my parents always playing guilt trips on me and focus on what I want from myself. But I CONSTANTLY obsess over other people's expectations of me. So whenever I go out in public, I'm paranoid and I'm scared that people are talking crap about me. My mom tells me to just get over myself because I'm not that important, but that just makes me feel worse! How do I get over myself????

I'm a quiet and introverted person who has a lot of anxiety but I love helping other people. I would love to be a counselor or a therapist but all I have is a high school diploma. Do I need a college degree in Psychology if I want to be one?

Is everything more expensive in socialist nations?

It seems like Communism promotes equality, doesn't it?

Do you call this karma? I'm 28 years old and grew up with a SUPER over-protective dad who controlled my every movement and always wanted me to wear clothes that HE wanted me to wear, speak the way HE wanted me to speak.

Now I'm living in a more independent living group home and I want to visit my dad at his job.

But he's a manager at a golf course and he thinks he's the President of the United States.

I understand that he worked his butt off in his life to get where he is now but he lost his empathy for his family on the way.

He never asks me how I'm doing. He just asks me if I need money and tosses the cash over to me.

But when I was a child, he was unemployed and treated me like a princess. Now he's a manager and he doesn't put his family as a priority.

So I want to pop in at his job to say hi and see his reaction. I'm sure he is going to FLIP HIS LID, but maybe this will be an opening for us and my mom and my brother to all go to family therapy, don't you think?

My family used to be super close and the more time goes by, the further we grow apart and are separated by money and our ego's.

Should I take this opportunity to see if I can bring us back together again?

There’s so much consumerism and advertisement everywhere you turn and if you’re not apart of it, then YOU’RE the bad guy, regardless of your race or gender. What if you DON’T want to be apart of all that? Is your only choice to be poor and homeless?

I always think my parents want me to die and want the worst for me. I stress myself out wondering what they want me to do or say that can make them happy because it seems like the only time they're happy is when I'm sad or in a bad place in my life. They want to be superior to me. How can I stop worrying about them all of the time?

I've never really drank alcoholic drinks before but I was wondering if people feel relaxed after they drink? What are your favorite alcoholic drinks?

Are they bad for people who are trying to lose weight?

Is it okay to have one cup of it a day or is that too much sugar?

If you're trying to have a conversation with your mother or father and one of them always keeps throwing in a sarcastic, passive-aggressive remark that mocks you and your state of well being, how do you respond to them?

Is it going to be a tropical storm?

Why?

Sometimes when I’m moving into a new home, my dad will grab my stuff away and take over and unpack my stuff even though I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself. I will jokingly tell him to “let me be independent” and he will make a big show of looking hurt even though he knows the joking place I was coming from. Is that HIS problem? I'm his youngest daughter and I know it's tough to let "Daddy's Little Girl" go but I feel like whenever I tell him that I can do things on my own and it's okay, HE gets mad at ME!!! What does he want from me??? I'm 28 years old!! I could have had my OWN child by now!

I'm 270 pounds and I'm 5'4. I know I'm obese but I used to be 330 pounds last November. I want to continue losing weight. How do I speed up my metabolism? I am active. I walk a lot and I drink 8-10 glasses of water a day. What else can I do to speed my metabolism up?

If I want to eat a 6 inch Sweet Onion Teriyaki sub from Subway at 8pm, and a bottle of water, is that unhealthy?

I never met my grandpa on my dad’s side but I knew he was an alcoholic. It affected my dad a lot. He doesn’t drink alcohol but he is very controlling and we have a very codependent relationship. Do you think if I go to an AA meeting, it would help?

If you drink only water every day on a 1200-1500 calorie diet, will your metabolism speed up and will you lose weight?