Category Archives for "Questions"

0 What to do when someone forces you to stay in a relationship.

Tannu asks: My boyfriend has kept me in blindness. He used to tell me that he is very rich. And he has taken my savings from me and said he will return it to me in two three days. But he has not returned it. I loved him so much. I have done whatever he told me to do, but he has lied to me for three years (taking my money, saying his father was ill). When I came to know about the truth he apologized to me and begged me to leave with him. I am in confusion what to do. But on the other side he used to curse me and put finger on my character. He used to tell me that I would leave him for money and didn’t accept his apology because I started liking someone else. Now I don’t want to stay with him, but he’s forcing me to, to get my money back. I don’t know what to do in this situation.

Hi Tannu –

I have to admit, just from your letter, I’m not liking this fellow very much.  He sounds like a total, awful jerk.  Not just kind of a jerk.

So this is a horrible situation.  And there’s no good easy way out of it.

One answer, if you can afford it, is to just walk away.  Forget about the money, and figure it’s your payment to have a life free of this creep.

But if you can’t afford that, my suggestion is to get some ‘muscle.’  Maybe some lawyers, but someone to confront him and force him to pay you back.

The only thing I really DON’T want you doing is just what you are doing, which is playing his game and staying in the relationship on his terms.  This is soul-destroying, and gives him every reason in the world to not pay you back!

I wish I knew more, and could tell you exactly what to do.  But I can only urge you to choose some solution other than staying.  This current situation just stinks.

All my best wishes,

Shirelle

0 Should you meet with an ex while in a relationship?

The little one asks: I have a boyfriend whom I fought with some days ago. We love each other but we fight a lot. Then I got a message from my ex-boyfriend whom I left for my current boyfriend. And when I talked with my ex, I kind of felt very happy. I really want to go meet him. But I don’t know whether this is correct or not. Please suggest.

Hi The little one –

I really can’t say what you need to do, because I don’t know enough about your relationship, or your current boyfriend.

In some relationships, no one would mind at all if the other met up with their ex – especially if it was in an innocent scenario like meeting for lunch in public.  But in other relationships, that would be looked at as cheating, and grounds to break up.

So I’d say to ask yourself a few questions, and then choose.

First, what was that fight about?  If it was about your boyfriend feeling jealous, then anything you do (like meeting your ex) is just going to add to his argument, and go very badly.  But if it was about politics or backseat driving or something, maybe that’s not a problem at all.

Second, is he generally a jealous guy?  Suspicious?  If so, then you’d be asking for trouble.  But if he’s not, then it might not matter at all.

Third, are you  a jealous person?  Do you get angry at him for talking to other girls?  Well, if so, then he might think it’s really hypocritical for you to meet your ex.  But if you’re a free spirit who’s cool with him hanging with his exes, it might be okay.

And fourth – was the fight so bad you’re not sure you want to continue the relationship?  And if so, are you thinking your ex was nicer and better, and that you might want to go back to him?  Well, if that’s the case, then meeting with him might be a very good idea.  But you do also say you love your current boyfriend, so breaking off the relationship might be a really painful awful thing to go through.

I’m sorry I can’t offer something more definite.  But my little doggy brain can’t answer your question without knowing about all these.

Either way, GOOD LUCK!  I hope it works out the best way possible!

Cheers,
Shirelle

0 How to keep a relationship working when living together

Lila asks: It’s been only two and a half months and he’s asking me to move in with him. We spent the whole summer together, but people are saying it won’t last, that we will be sick of each other. How can I make that not happen?

Hi Lila –

I’m not sure what you’re asking.  Do you want moving in together to not happen, or getting sick of each other to not happen, after you move in together?

If it’s the first one, you just have to say no, that you love him and want to keep your relationship going, but that it’s too soon for you to do that.  And hopefully he’ll understand.

But if you mean the second, that’s a very common concern.  It comes up with all couples, especially when they’ve been together for a few years.  This is why we see married couples going into couples therapy, or just planning date nights or romantic getaways.  But I think that’s looking too far ahead.

For now, if you two decide to do this, I think the big Continue reading

0 How to get self-esteem back when you’re depressed

Sazuna6 asks: Recently I’ve been struggling a lot. Without getting into specifics, college applications didn’t work out, a relationship that I was super invested in didn’t work out, (the fact that I am still in love with that person isn’t helping), a lot has been going on in the family, and I’m also clinically depressed so I feel like I’m in this downward spiral. I know most of the sadness or hopelessness comes from the depression itself, but if we were to take that out of the equation for a while, how do you think I can get myself back up? I don’t want to be drowning in self-pity right now. College is starting, I want to be able to have a positive outlook, but everything that’s happened just tore my self-esteem to shreds and I’m not sure how I can put the pieces back together. Any word of advice would be super duper helpful <3

Hi Sazuna6 –

I don’t know a lot about what you’re asking in particular – for example, you say that college applications didn’t go well, but then you say that “College is starting” – but I sure do know about self-esteem, and it makes sense that you’re going through a time where yours has taken a beating.  So I can offer a few thoughts to maybe help.

The first, and most important thing, to be aware of is that self-esteem has nothing, and I mean nothing,  to do with reality.  Every day we see people who brag about themselves when they’ve accomplished relatively little, and people who’ve done great things feeling bad about themselves.  Sure, accomplishing things helps self-esteem, and is the best and easiest way to get it, but if your self-esteem relies on success, it’s not real self-esteem.  What we want is for you to feel good about yourself, that you’re “good enough,” no matter how well or badly you’re doing at different activities.

And especially that the three downers you point out are all not your doing.  A relationship didn’t work out – that might be 50% your fault, but no more than that.  College applications didn’t work out – well, lots of schools regret people they pick, and hopefully you learned some things to help you do better next time.  And your family is having problems – well that is SOOO normal, and that doesn’t reflect on you at all!

And then you’re actually clinically depressed.  Or at least you’re saying so.  Have you been diagnosed?  And if so, do you have a doctor working to help you with it, maybe with some medications?  (If not, please do so; it might save your life!)

Okay, so now that we have all that straight, what can I recommend?  Here goes: Continue reading

0 What to do when your boyfriend or girlfriend thinks you’re a different age

Manny asks: I’ve been dating people who are older than me by 5+ years and they all have the same impression about me, that I’m older and wiser than most people they’ve encountered over the years. I’m 19 and I’m really scared of the level of maturity I have because of this. There is this woman I have who believes that I’m 27. She’s 33 and I love her and she also loves me, but I’ve never told her my real age and I already feel like marrying her. What should I do? I don’t care that she’s older; I love her for the kind of person she is. I don’t want to lose her, and I want to have a prosperous marriage with her, but I fear that should she find out or I tell her my real age she’ll dump me. Please help!

Hi Manny –

This is such an fascinating issue.  We dogs are constantly mistaken for different ages, and it’s always interesting to see why.

For example, I’ve written a bit about my friend Aria.  She’s a mix of many breeds, but her appearance is all like a German Shepherd – but one about half the size of a normal adult.  So when people meet her, they usually think she’s about six months old, even though she has grey hair on her chin!  (We don’t know her actual age; the veterinarians say she’s somewhere between four and six)

Meanwhile, I have a human friend named K who helps with my website sometimes.  She’s 22, and looks it.  But because she’s, like you, very mature, she comes off as ten to fifteen years older.  In her case, her family moved around a lot when she was young, so she kept dealing with new people all the time, and she’s had to be very responsible and take care of some people, which of course makes someone act more mature.

(And when it comes to me, I may look my age, but I usually act like a bratty puppy, so people often think I’ve got half my years!)

Now you didn’t give me any reason why  you come off as more mature than you are, and maybe it’s just the way your brain is set up.  But it’s very important to note this – it is just as difficult for a person to fit in when they’re much more mature than others their own age as it is if they’re much less so.  We see people with developmental issues who might be 19 but have the brain of a ten-year-old.  And while they can be frustrating, most people are understanding and willing to try to adjust, to deal with that person’s disability.  Well you are JUST AS MUCH of an outlier!  But who adjusts to you?  Who says “Oh we’ll have a special class in school, and give you an aide,” and all that?  No one, of course!

So the fact is, it makes total sense that you would date a woman older than you.  You’re actually the right age for each other, probably!  Or at least, so it seems.

So I have a couple of thoughts for you.  First, and biggest, you come off as mature, and you may well be that way in many ways.  But there might be many others where you’re Continue reading

0 How to choose between your boyfriend and your family.

Susmitha asks: I’m in a relationship with a boy. He is an introverted, nice guy. I trust him very much. We have been in love for three years. We are not married, but we do have physical touch. After some day, I noticed that he had some feelings about my sister. After I asked him, he said that he is loving both of us. Firstly he proposed to my sissy, and she rejected him in front of me. Later he proposed to me to take revenge on my sissy. After she came home, she accepted his proposal but I didn’t know about it. In between that we both had a physical touch (but didn’t go further than that). Over the next three years, he cheated on both me and my sister. We asked him finally whom he wants in his life, who he loved the most. He says that he is in love with me, “I don’t want your sister, I need you in my life. I did wrong but I don’t want to lose you.” They broke up. He promised me after this that after he gets a job, “I will come to your home and I ask your parents to marry you. Until then I will wait for you. Forgive me, I did wrong.” But my sister is not accepting him to be in my life. She says to break up with him. But I don’t want to lose him. I’m so confused. Can I accept him in my life or not. What can I do now? I too need him In my life, and don’t want to lose him, He is somewhat childish, but he is my true love. What can I do now? Please help me.

Hi Susmitha –

Okay, so yes, there’s a real problem here.  Your sister is telling you what to do, and you’re struggling with whether to obey her or go with your interest in this guy.

This is one of those situations where one’s culture really matters.  I live with my human friend Handsome, in the Los Angeles area in the United States.  I haven’t seen any of my siblings since I was a month or two old, so I wouldn’t care at all if they told me to do something.  Handsome has a very good relationship with his brother, and neither one has ever ordered the other to do, or not do, anything (since they were children of course).  So if Handsome fell in love with someone and his brother told him he had to leave her, that would be extremely hard for Handsome; but there’s a good chance he’d go with her, and hope his brother gained more understanding over time.

But in a different culture, I understand that family is a bigger deal, and disobeying a family member could be catastrophic.  So this is why I can’t really answer your question – because I don’t know what you would lose if you disobeyed your sister.

I will, however, tell one story – about Handsome and me.  He was dating a Continue reading

0 How to win over someone who is afraid of being held down by a relationship

Danish asks: As you suggested, I asked that girl in an indirect way why she doesn’t want to marry. I feel her answer is based in fear, that she wants to achieve something big In life. She’s scared while she thinks about her future. She doesn’t want to depend on boys for her survival. She is ambitious and she wants an independent life. And she does have feelings for me, as she told one of our mutual friends, and will accept me after being successful. So here I want to ask you how to make my emotional connections stronger now, as she doesn’t know that I know she has a feeling for me – but without letting her know what her friend told me?

Hi Danish –

Wow, this is a fascinating situation!

It feels like it should be part of a romantic comedy movie, maybe a musical, but I don’t think it’s ever been made.  The woman is focused on her career, the man wants to win her, so he works to convince her that he’s so focused on his career that he’ll only date her if she’s not interested in getting married yet.  She gets very attached to him, and decides she wants to marry him, but is afraid to say so, because she thinks he’s too independent.  Eventually there’s a big confusion that almost ruins everything, but they discover the truth, and in a big song and dance number pledge their love to each other forever.

Sound good?

I think it’d be a big hit!  But I’m going to like it a lot better if you LIVE it instead of filming it!

Can you do this?  Can you be her friend, and get her interested in you, without letting her know how much you want for you to be hers and her to be yours?  If you can, this just might work!

And it would be SOOO romantic!

Best of luck!

Shirelle

0 How to avoid someone you’re attracted to

Athika asks: I’m a female and I’ve been in a serious relationship with one boy for a few months. My problem is that I still talk with my classmate whom I used to love and admire a lot. I met with my classmate, which caused serious impact on our relationship. My partner got to know about this and was ready to leave. I just want to stay away from my classmate because I know I seriously love my friend. What should I do now?

Hi Athika –

I just want to clarify your question, to make sure I understand what’s going on.

If I have it right, you’ve been in a relationship with a boy for a few months, but you also have a classmate you have loved and admired, and your boyfriend is jealous about this?  Is that correct?  And so you’re asking how to stay away from the classmate?

If I do have it right, the fact is that you can’t totally stay away from the classmate, as long as you’re in class together.  But you can choose to only deal with them in a “professional” way, only talking about classwork and such.  And that might help.

But at the same time, this is a great time to work with your boyfriend to build trust in each other. After all, you might later have a job with someone very attractive, or he might too.  And trust is really the most important part of any relationship, and this is a great way to work on it.

My real advice on this is to talk very openly about it – a lot – with each other.  See what bothers him, and how you can work together to make the relationship work for both of you.

(But if I misunderstood what’s happening, please let me know and I’ll be glad to give you the right response!)

All my best,

Shirelle

0 Should I tell my boyfriend or girlfriend about my past they can’t accept?

Satapathy asks: I had a past sex relationship with my ex-boyfriend. Now I’m going to marry a new person. He is very honest, well-behaved, cultured, loyal. I want to tell him everything about my past, but I know that after knowing this he will leave me. But I don’t want to play with his emotions. What can I do?

Hi Satapathy –

This is as tough an issue as exists.  As any dog can tell you, the key to relationships is trust.  That’s why we’re so loyal.  That way, when we break a rule (like when I took that pizza off the counter last week), our humans can still know that we’re trustworthy deep-down, where it counts.  And I know that my human will be trustworthy to me, even though he got really mad about that pizza!

I wish I could give you a simple clear answer to your question, but I can’t.  And this is for one simple reason: In order for your marriage to be based on trust, you’ll have to tell him about this issue, which is likely to take some of his trust in you away.

And that is TOUGH!  For anyone!

I’ll throw in a thought, though.  A friend of my human, Handsome, is a therapist, who told him a story recently.  A client of hers had let her husband think she was Continue reading

0 Can someone be too good for you?

PERFECTION asks: My friends always told me that I shouldn’t even try to be with this girl. They say she’s too good for me as she’s perfect, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed it. Should I be worried that she’s too good for me? And also, Is there even such a thing about money defines to whom are we going to be with?

Hi PERFECTION –

We talked before about what I consider perfection, and what you consider perfection.  But now you’re talking about social status.

Some people are considered very good-looking, and so only want to date people also considered very good-looking.

Some people are super-popular, and only want to date other popular people.

Some people have a lot of money, and so only want to date other people who have money.

And then there are cross-overs.  A great athlete marries a popular actress, a rich man always has young beautiful women around him, etc.

I can’t pretend that these scenarios don’t exist.  They do.  In high school, in regular life, and all the way up to royalty and presidencies.

So your friends might be right to want to protect you from getting rejected by her, because of whatever reasons there might be.

But you’ve told me something very different about her before.  You told me she’s intelligent, and responsible, and good.

Which makes me wonder… just maybe… if she’s able to look at a person through other eyes than those of those shallow values.

And of course I don’t know her at all.  But I can sure tell from what you’ve written that she’d be smart to go out with you.  Someone who’d treat her with such honor and respect and adoration.  (Or maybe a better way to say it is that, if I were her mother or father, you’re exactly  who I’d want her to go out with!).

The only way you’ll be able to find out is to try, I’m afraid.  And then, even if she says no, at least you’ll know you had a quality that is right up there with responsibility and intelligence and goodness… you showed her, and your friends, and yourself, that you are truly brave.

Which might be its own reward here.

BUT I’M HOPING FOR ALL THE BEST!

Shirelle