ArcaMax

Dear Annie: Where do I begin?

My son and our family have put up with our daughter-in-law for 15 years. Although she appears charming to others, she is downright crude to me. I have ignored her rude remarks to me for years, letting time pass, but there is always another conflict. My son puts up with her outbursts of anger, but then she turns ...Read more

Dear Annie: My 27-year-old son moved back home eight months ago after his lease ended. The plan was for it to be temporary while he "regrouped." But since then, he's applied to only a handful of jobs. Meanwhile, he's sleeping in, playing video games and getting defensive if I bring up the job search.

I don't want to kick him out, but I also ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have always strived to be a super supportive mother-in-law and have maintained what I thought was a great relationship with my daughter-in-law until recently. My daughter-in-law gave birth to my first and only grandchild a little over a year ago, and I have tried my best to respect the boundaries she has set.

I live six hours ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm the mother of a 14-year-old daughter, and lately TikTok has me genuinely frightened.

At first, I thought it was mostly dancing, makeup tutorials and funny videos. But over time, I started hearing about dangerous "challenges," extreme dieting advice, risky stunts and videos that encourage kids to do things they would never have...Read more

Dear Annie: I have been married to my husband for a little over 50 years, and lately I find myself wondering whether I am becoming too sensitive or whether something in our marriage has changed.

More and more, I feel as though my feelings, needs and wishes are being overlooked. If I speak up about something that bothers me, especially if it ...Read more

Dear Annie: I recently had another unpleasant encounter with my 13-year-old granddaughter, and this time we both ended up yelling. What began as a simple conversation quickly turned into hateful answers, a bad attitude and her refusal to speak to me in a respectful or pleasant way.

Unfortunately, this has become a pattern. I have tried to be ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm hoping you might have some advice for me about how to meet people and make new friends as an adult. I'm 40, and I've been depressed for about a year. I was seeing a therapist for almost a year, but have recently given up on him. We tried different things, but I still feel pretty stuck and alone. I've tried going out by myself, ...Read more

Dear Annie: My girlfriend, "Lucy," and I started dating three years ago, during our senior year of college. After graduating, we both got jobs in the same city where we had gone to school, and we ended up moving in together to save money. Living together was surprisingly easy, as we're both pretty low-maintenance people. Anyway, Lucy is a good ...Read more

Dear Annie: A close friend, "Jenna," has a mental illness: She hoards. Her house would be condemned if the health administration were to go there.

I can start tracing this behavior back to when she first became a mother and discovered that raising children requires more than just buying them new clothes and getting pictures taken. She worked ...Read more

Dear Annie: My wife and I have been together for 20 years and married for four. We have three kids. In the beginning of our relationship, it was bad -- and the bad all came from me. I cheated on her and hurt her. She stayed by my side, and that's when I realized that I have a wonderful woman. I got my act together and ended up marrying her.

...Read more

Dear Annie: I need your advice. My very musically gifted high school senior appears to want to go to college and major in music performance. But he is refusing to visit colleges. He won't discuss why; he just gets very belligerent when the subject comes up and won't expand on any reasons. Should I let it be or make the contacts for him and force...Read more

Dear Annie: My daughter is single and raising two sons. Her husband died in an automobile accident four years ago.

I am worried about the relationship between her sons, "Steven," 16, and "Frederick," 10. I think they are too close and too affectionate with each other. Steven is very protective of Frederick, and Frederick worships his big ...Read more

Dear Annie: My son and his wife have been married for 11 years, and my daughter-in-law, age 31, has struggled with alcoholism, depression and anxiety for the past six years. She's also attempted suicide a few times in the past three years. She is under the care of a psychiatrist. But who knows whether she is telling him the truth? She also is a ...Read more

Dear Annie: I met my boyfriend, "Tyler," almost six years ago. For the past two years, I've been wondering whether he truly loves me. There is very little physical contact between us. We're intimate maybe once a year. If I try to touch him at night, he pulls away, even if my foot just brushes against his. He only kisses me and says he loves me ...Read more

Dear Annie: A lot of things improved when I got sober five years ago. I left a toxic job and started my own business, where I've made some good friends. I improved my relationship with my kids, now 7 and 9, so much that I became the preferred parent. I'm even healthier thanks to a new dog who loves walking and comes almost everywhere with me. ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been married only a few short years. My husband and I used to go out and have fun; we'd do things like day trips to the beach or going out to eat, just to get out of the house.

Over the past few years, he has decided that his favorite pastime is sitting on the sofa. If I mention going somewhere, he comes up with an excuse: it...Read more

Dear Annie: My best friend of over 20 years has a son that is her world. Her entire life revolves around him. What I've noticed is that he has become such a master of manipulation that either she ignores it or she truly doesn't see it.

For example, he recently transferred colleges to accept an athletic scholarship. He insisted his car, a 2025...Read more

Dear Annie: I have been married to my husband for 18 years, and I love him deeply. He is kind, hardworking and devoted to our family. He will fix anything that breaks, drive across town if one of the kids needs something and make me coffee every morning without being asked. In so many ways, he shows up.

But emotionally, I often feel ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for six years, and every holiday now feels less like a celebration and more like a negotiation.

My family lives about an hour away. My parents host a big Thanksgiving and Christmas every year with my siblings, nieces, nephews and all the traditions I grew up with. My mother starts planning weeks ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am 72 years old, and lately I have been struggling with something I never expected about getting older: I feel increasingly invisible.

I have a full life. I have children and grandchildren I adore, longtime friends, hobbies I enjoy and a calendar that is often busier than I would like. I exercise, read, travel when I can and ...Read more