My sister is drinking heavily while pregnant. How can I help her stop?
Dear Annalisa, I’ve just come back from a trip with my sister, who is pregnant with her first child. During our time away (we were in…
I want to go back on my decision to share parental leave with my partner
Dear Annalisa, I am currently on maternity leave with my first child. Before I had the baby I agreed to split my maternity leave with my…
I’d like my fiance to take my last name – is that too much to ask of him?
Dear Annalisa My partner and I are getting married this winter. But we don’t know about our last names. We are both broadly against ingrained gender stereotypes and…
My daughter will only eat junk food. How can I get her on a healthy diet?
Dear Annalisa, Our daughter, who is eight, had the “best start”: exclusively breastfed, weaned on to vegetables and fruit and healthy home-cooked meals. At some point, she started…
Happy endings: our advice columnist on the columns that helped change people’s lives
We all hope that any advice we give is taken and enriches someone’s life. As someone who gives advice every week in these pages, I sometimes…
My mother-in-law’s partner has a police record for exposing himself. Do we tell her?
Dear Annalisa, My wife’s mother is in her 60s and divorced, and has been seeing a man her age for around six years. While he is…
I’m plagued by intrusive, violent thoughts. How can I lessen their impact?
Dear Annalisa, I am a 76-year-old widower. I lost my wife eight years ago and my daughter moved out two years ago, so I now live alone. …
My friend talks nonstop about herself. How can I get her to listen to me?
Dear Annalisa, I have a question on how to deal with my friend “V”. She is very sweet but a complete chatterbox. When we meet, she talks nonstop, usually about…
My boyfriend controls me and threatens to leave when I see my friends. What can I do?
Dear Annalisa, I met my current boyfriend a year ago, when I moved to his country for work. But I feel I’m going crazy and I don’t…
Biting the skin off my fingers feels like self-harm – but I can’t stop
Dear Annalisa, Since childhood I have bitten the skin off my fingers, often leaving them bloody and painful. I am in my 50s now and my poor fingers…
Annalisa Barbieri 
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