I keep telling myself not to say something racist and then I can't concentrate. What can I do?
I feel like I am pretty lucky and normal, except I have one issue that has been swirling in my head for 20 years and I can't shake it, but I'm thinking it might be a Catastrophic thought. Not sure if you have heard of this one before, but my struggle is when speaking in groups or presenting is sorta ridiculous and embarrassing. I worked as an admissions counselor at a college after I graduated and did a lot of medium sized presentations, and I felt like I was pretty good at it, but started getting bored with them. So I then started telling myself not to say something racist out loud while presenting, stupid I know, but here I am today still dealing with it and its caused me to get distracted in my subsequent different jobs. I reached out to a counselor and she gave me a couple suggestions, but was just curious if you’ve heard of others having this issue?
How do I respond to mean comments from a friend?
I have a "friend" who says mean things. It's like she can't give a compliment without adding an insult to it. Or she teases me but the jokes she makes seem serious, like she is actually jealous or she is trying to make me feel bad. Here's an example. If she comes for dinner, she might say, "Oh this is delicious. Way better than that last meal you made where the noodles were still crunchy and the edges were burned!" And she says stuff like that in front of other people. How do I know if I'm being too sensitive or if she is being rude and how do I respond to those things?
My 7-year-old doesn't like the way he looks. What do I do?
Yesterday my son, who is 7 and half year old , as he was washing his face looked in the mirror and said “ mumma I don’t like the way I look . My head is too big and mouth is too small and ears are like a monkey. I look like a monkey.” I had absolutely no idea how to react to this. I asked him if anyone has told him so.. to which he replied NO .. he said I think I look like a monkey . I did not react at all.The conversation got deflected when he started talking about other random things . What do I tell my little one ? How do I make him understand that these thoughts are not helpful . And also what is the right way to react to a child when you don’t have an answer. I don’t want to tell him that he is wrong and he is good looking. Please help.
Is there anything I can do for my adult child who is an alcoholic?
My son is clearly an alcoholic and I'm slowly realizing just how bad his drinking has become since his divorce two years ago. When he's drinking a lot he sometimes calls to tell me how depressed and lonely he is. When he is sober he acts like nothing happened and says he is OK. Is there anything I should be doing to help him? Am I providing emotional support when I talk to him even though he doesn't seem to remember it the next day?
Taking medication for my depression feels like a crutch. Should I be strong enough to handle this without pills?
I've had depression for quite a while and my doctor is aware. He keeps telling me I should take medication and that medication might help me. But I can't shake the feeling that medication is just a crutch. I don't want to go for the easy fix but it is tempting sometimes to just do it. Is taking medication a crutch I shouldn't need?