My mother’s grief is making our relationship toxic
Dear Annalisa, I am a woman in my late 30s, married with two small children with a rewarding and demanding career. I live some hours’ drive away from…
How do I protect my bereaved friend from predatory behaviour?
Dear Annalisa, I recently saw an old friend for the first time in a few years and feel I must do something to help her but I’m…
Can I ever heal after the lack of love my birth mother showed me?
Dear Annalisa, I am a much-loved adopted child. Both my adoptive parents died several years ago. I was told that my birth mother apparently loved me…
My partner won’t wear sun cream despite my pleas – I’m terrified he’ll get cancer
Dear Annalisa, I am in a long-term relationship with a wonderful man but it bothers me that when sunbathing he never uses sun cream except on his face. I am…
My dad, who was often drunk and angry, has messaged me after 20 years. Should I reply?
Dear Annalisa, My dad is in his 70s and has contacted me on Facebook. I have not yet replied. I last spoke to him almost 20 years ago,…
My sibling has stolen our late mother’s will. Is this a crime?
Dear Annalisa, Our mother died this summer. She deposited her will with a solicitor, having appointed one of my two siblings as executor, and shared her estate…
OCD has plagued me for most of my life – can I ever escape it?
Dear Annalisa, I am a 76-year-old married man and have had intense and ongoing obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) since the age of 13. My father was killed in the second world…
How can I stop my mother’s constant criticism bringing me down?
Dear Annalisa, I love my mother most of the time, but sometimes I hate her. She has always been critical of me; it’s as if she…
How do I tell my brother his diet could be harmful?
Dear Annalisa, I’m in my late 40s and have a brother who is a couple of years younger than me. He’s been happily married for almost 20 years…
My best friend stopped talking to me when my parents died. Will I ever get over it?
Dear Annalisa, Some years ago, my father died suddenly and unexpectedly. At the same time, my mother was very ill. I called my best friend of two decades,…
Annalisa Barbieri 
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