I've fallen for someone at the office; we meet every day for coffee and lunch and became best friends over a couple of years.
She’s had a boyfriend all along, and I’ve known my boundaries. But I've developed feelings for her. And after telling her about them, I got the impression that her feelings were not far from mine, but she’s not the type to act on them.
Now I’m finding it difficult to see her so regularly. It’s caused me to bottle up my feelings which, twice came out in the form of hostility and anger in my tone with her.
I’ve finally decided to keep my distance but I’m finding it extremely difficult to do so, not knowing exactly how she feels about me.
Do I just continue on the present course and keep our contact minimal for now?

- Lost at Sea

You need to recognize that you’re sailing this ship alone. If her feelings had matched yours, she’d have said so; she’d have agonized aloud about what to do with her boyfriend; she’d have given you a strong signal that she wanted to work towards a future relationship with you.
But the very fact that you’re becoming so frustrated tells me she’s purposefully non-committal. She’s trying to stay as office friends and to not hurt you with a definitive dismissal of anything more.
Back off. Daily contact is too intense for you for now.
Start looking to broaden your social life outside the workplace, pro-actively – e.g. see friends more frequently, join a summer recreation group, get involved in a community-based sport, etc.
There’s no need to announce this withdrawal to her; just get busy personally, and pull away.

I’m currently separated from my second husband, but now I want to move on with my life and be happy, something I’ve been craving for a long time.
I’ve been friends with a man for 13-plus years and we’re starting to talk more and get together for dinner and coffee. He’s very loving, sweet, kind, sensitive, understanding, family-oriented - everything that I’ve been looking for in a man.
My problem is that I want to bring him to get to know my family and have them see what I see in him. But it seems that they’ve become very protective of me (which I understand from what I’ve been through). But I just want to be happy and I want them to be happy for me that I finally found someone who makes me feel I’m on top of the world.

- Family Approval

I’m guessing that you’re old enough to make your own decisions and can go ahead with this romance, with or without family approval. Yet you imply that you can’t be happy unless others are happy for you.
Why?
I suspect you’ve had a pattern of talking yourself into your past relationships, which both turned out unhappily. I say this because your description of your friend is over the top.
While that’s often the way people feel in the first flush of love, after knowing this guy so long, and considering your past choices, you need to take a thoughtful, realistic look at the match.
No doubt, that’s how your family feels, and why they’re holding back their enthusiasm for you.
Go slow, bring him around when there’s an occasion rather than force their meeting him, and enjoy this dating period as you weigh whether this guy is all you think he is.

Our daughter, 16, has very low self-esteem which has caused her to become very quiet. She spends a lot of time in her bedroom.
I’m convinced that she needs to see a therapist, but she’s refused.
My husband says she’s going.
Should we insist?

- Worried Parents

Therapy doesn’t work when it’s pushed at someone.
Also, to be effective, your daughter has to feel she’s talking to someone who “gets” her – not only the therapist, but her parents, too.
I suggest you start the conversation again by both reading the website information for teens and parents, at http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/.
Then, tell your daughter she can benefit the rest of her life by talking to a professional counsellor now, and learning ways to feel better about herself.
Then, research to find someone specializing in teenage girls and self-esteem, and offer two sessions as trial before she decides if this is the right person.