love

1.  I feel like I am in the process of losing my best friend. She has been trying to leave an emotionally abusive/narcissistic relationship with a much older man for a while. Of her own admission she has “no future” with this guy. Whenever I try to have this conversation with her, she freezes up and goes silent on me for weeks until she messages again with a complete change of topic.  What would you do, doctors, if you were in my position?

2.  I have a question regarding alien abductions. If mental illness is not to account for the feeling of being abducted by aliens, what are the doctor’s takes on this strange phenomenon?

3.   I’ve been struggling with mood swings/PMS my whole life now, however, they’ve gotten worse over the past few months since I seem to let out my frustration on my partner now.  I’d really appreciate some tips on how to get along with my significant other during this special time and get some advice on how to not obsess over one’s emotions.

4. What is the deal with anger management? I guess I’m in a situation where I feel very angry (and confident that I’m right) but it feels awful. Is time the only way to get over it?

5. I was glad to see Jordan Peterson is doing so much better after recovering from his physical dependency on benzodiazapines. I think many people were surprised he turned to benzos, given his knowledge as an Evolutionary Psychologist. Would you be able to explain what makes people desperate enough to seek anti-anxiety drugs and what could be done from an Evolutionary Psychology point of view instead to reduce stress and anxiety and avoid resorting to medication?

1. My 19 year old daughter confided in me that she and her friend joined a sugar baby website and has met an older man.  I am her birthmother. We are in an “open adoption arrangement” I am 38, so younger than her mom and someone she confides in. No other adults know about this. Is this normal developmentally and I should just let it play out, or is this out of bounds, and I may need to intervene more assertively?

2. Is there any way to spot people on extreme ends of the bell curve by their appearance? Perhaps it has to do with sensitivity and some people could have an intuitive way of recognizing red flag characteristics, whether in physical structure/form or expression? Is there any validity or basis to this? An evolutionary explanation? 

3. I keep noticing current references to “unconditional love.” Some in “spiritual circles, some in philosophy, some in the news. People supposedly suddenly want new pets for the unconditional love they are missing in isolation. Taking Ketamine or psilocybin supposedly gives the subject a reference experience of Unconditional Love, so then they can go on to cultivate that perception and achieve a new state of consciousness. Etc. I have looked for a long time, and I have not yet found any “loving” (bonding, service, caring, sharing, etc.) without some kind of conditions behind it. And wouldn’t loving-looking behavior be determined by the big 5, and not be altered by a transcendent experience? What does EP say about it?

4.Anyways, my husband and family members joke that I have an irrational fear of homelessness and logically I know it’s unlikely that I will ever be homeless, but that doesn’t stop me from worrying about it on a weekly basis. How does someone become homeless? And if in some imaginary reality you were charged with decreasing or eliminating homelessness by any means necessary, what would you do?