DEAR ABBY: I have a problem of my own making. When I was a young child/teenager, I never brushed my teeth. Because of it, the enamel on my teeth eroded and I have cavities, really bad ones. Add to that a desperate fear of dentists, and my teeth are in horrible shape now. When I […]

DEAR ABBY: I am a 34-year-old male who reads your column regularly. I usually see people asking for advice about their concerns, so I figured I would send you something different. My wife and I have been married three months now, after living together for a year. Prior to that, we dated exclusively for three […]

DEAR ABBY: My daughter, a single parent, has a 27-year-old son who has assaulted her several times. He has never worked and has been in trouble with the law because of drugs. Recently, she called me to ask if she and her son could spend the night with me. (They live 160 miles away.) I […]

DEAR ABBY: I am an administrative assistant. Part of my job is to make the arrangements for our department Christmas party. Every year we go out in a group of about 15 people. I no longer wish to attend these events. Group settings make me nervous. In addition, we all have to buy gender-neutral gifts […]

DEAR ABBY: I have been married to my amazing husband for two years. He has worked his butt off to put me through school, and I am appreciative and thankful. He has recently been offered a promotion, which means we will have to move from the South to the Midwest. Though I’m not a fan […]

DEAR ABBY: Every year my husband and I throw a formal holiday party. We invite a small group of our closest friends, and everyone always has a wonderful time. Over the years we have grown apart from some of these couples. This year as we were starting to plan, my husband asked if we could […]

DEAR ABBY: I have a sibling, “Bailey,” who suffers from panic attacks and anxiety disorder. Bailey was first diagnosed while I was attending college. I had a standard psychology class that helped me understand the basics of what he was going through, but whenever there would be a problem with him, I would always feel […]

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have a great relationship. We work in the same school system. He’s an administrator; I am a counselor. We sometimes go to joint meetings, but when we do, he always acts awkward, like he doesn’t even know me. I understand we have to behave professionally, but not as if […]

DEAR ABBY: I am a 68-year-old woman. For the past seven years, I have lived with my daughter, my only child. We have always had a great relationship, and now as adults, we have a great friendship. She and her husband recently separated, and she now has a boyfriend. She has an excellent job and […]

DEAR ABBY: My 25-year-old sister, “Lara,” who has four children with her deadbeat “boyfriend,” lives at my 57-year-old mother’s house and cheats on him. Mom is suspicious because Lara sometimes doesn’t come home from work, and she’s always using the excuse that she’s “going to a friend’s house.” This leaves my mother baby-sitting Lara’s children. […]