I'm married for almost 20 years. I underwent Oophorectomy 2 years ago. I haven't engaged in sex since then. My husband said he was traumatized when he took care of me after surgery because I was frail and couldn't be intimate with me anymore. On rare occasions I would jerk him off. I'm on my late 40s and hoping I could be sexually as I was before.

I found out that my husband was sexting women which made me feel so betrayed. Confronting him, he would shout and break things. Which made me stop. He would say we're equally imperfect.  

Whenever we have problems we keep it to ourselves, or within extended family. Since it's a shameful concern I only get to open it in this platform

I have a daughter with him, which is the only reason I want to stay married. At the same time I want to keep my sanity and self respect. I hope you can help me

Hi, I’m 25 y.o. male and I can’t get over my phobia of needles and of blood.

It wasn’t so intense when I was younger. In fact, I don’t remember anything particular about school vaccination or visits to doctors, it was probably a different experience when I was with my parents, people are patient and kind to kids. Thankfully, I didn’t need to deal with any tests or shots for a very long time, and there was no problem. Two years ago, I was hospitalized with pneumonia. Once they told me I was about to get an IV, I panicked. I’ve never had them! The thought of having a needle under my skin for almost half an hour freaked me out more than anything! I think I really scared the young man who was treating me; I was about to pass out. The first time he definitely didn’t get it that it was my fear of IV and not my fever. By the time of my second IV he probably noticed my anxiety, he was joking all the time, but it didn’t make me feel better…

What I feel is humiliation and shame. I had to take multiple blood tests after that, and the only thing that works for me is to ask if I can lie down before we start. Because the first time it happened, and I took a glimpse at my blood, my eyes went dark. I would surely have fainted if I were not sitting! So now I lie down, and feel like a baby and not a grownup man. Surely, there should be some tricks that could help me overcome this?

I need to do some injections at home next month. My partner can help me, she’s qualifed. Just thinking about it makes me so nervous. She knows about my fears, and she will search for child needles that are smaller in size. I wonder if I can somehow prepare myself psychologically too?

Any recommendations would be immensely appreciated!

I don’t crave alcohol, but whenever I drink I can’t stop and get drunk very quickly. I am an emotional person and I get so stressed at my work that I’m waiting for my weekends to lie low and do nothing. I have absolutely no desire or energy to go out. There’s always a bottle of wine and 2-3 beers in my fridge. I drink during lunch, then have some more at dinner, and by 6pm I’m out of my wits and just black out wherever I am. The worst nightmare happens in the morning, with debilitating hangover and depressive thoughts. I can’t drink on Sundays or I simply won’t be able to work the next day. So I just live through the day as best I can and tell myself this was the last time I’ve ruined it. After one or two days I’m back to normal and forget how bad I’d felt, and next weekend the cycle repeats.

This Saturday my mother arrived uninvited and found me puking on my sofa. I don’t quite remember the rest, but she stayed, and the next morning it got me. I felt so defeated and embarrassed. I was scared to talk to her. She looked so worried. She told me about the old guy I knew who had died two years ago, drank himself to death. I didn’t know him well and he was 63, but I felt sick to be compared to him. Am I that lost? My mother thinks I need help, she begged me to take a vacation and do something about it. I promised her to consider. I still feel terrible and barely cope with my work. Friday is approaching and for the first time I dread it. I don’t even enjoy drinking. I’ve become boring, lacking creativity, rarely meeting with friends, because I lack motivation to do so. I don’t know how I am going to break out of this cycle. I know I need to before I lose myself all together.

I was involved with a man for a brief yet intense period of 3 months. He was a complex individual, and throughout our time together, I often found myself in a state of uncertainty, unsure about his feelings towards me. Despite this, our relationship was filled with so much happiness and excitement. However, things started to change about a week ago. On his initiative, our relationship took a step back. We didn't officially break up, but we stopped meeting in person and limited our interactions to text messages. He initially seemed to be struggling with depression and distanced himself from me. Now, I find myself hesitant about restarting our relationship.

This uncertainty is taking a toll on me, and I find myself in a very bad emotional place, unable to snap out of it.