Dear Abby: Help! I just can’t stop stealing things
Dear Abby I need help I am a -plus-year-old married well-educated woman I am also a kleptomaniac and I m not proud of it It started a insufficient years back when I accidentally left an item in my shopping cart Since then I have located it easy to take things shoes makeup jewelry clothing I am out of control I know it s wrong I tell myself That s it I will not steal Then I go and do it again I want to stop this madness within myself but I can t tell anyone Please help me Taking What s Not Mine in Tennessee Dear Taking Stopping this madness within yourself on your own obviously isn t working Embarrassing as it may be the time has come to admit to someone who is qualified to help you that you need it Your physician or healthcare insurance company may be able to refer you to a licensed psychotherapist while keeping the matter confidential Please don t wait to reach out Dear Abby I went to dinner with a friend who had notified me a couple of years ago that he was an alcoholic and had gone into rehab Since that time I have had doubts about his sobriety due to his serious family problems and his subsequent comment to me that after one year of therapy he decided he was not an alcoholic When we had dinner in recent days I ordered a glass of wine and he ordered his usual Diet Coke At the end of dinner I went to the restroom and on my way back I saw him take a couple of sips of my leftover wine When I returned to the table I announced nothing I m not sure if that was the right thing to do If not what should I have noted to witnessing an alcoholic have a drink Surprised in New York Dear Surprised At the end of therapy a matter drinker does not announce that he is not an alcoholic Your friend may be an alcoholic in recovery but he still is one It appears from your letter that his sobriety may be a bit wobbly If the two of you are very close friends you could have advised him you saw what he did If you are not then you were right to remain silent because it wouldn t have been helpful Dear Abby My son was conceived using donor sperm I never informed him because his deceased father didn t want him to know he wasn t his biological father and they loved each other dearly My son now in his s has done the DNA thing and is now questioning why he s Jewish when that isn t in either family I m torn about whether I should tell him I feel awful for not telling him as a child I m afraid this could be too big a shock for him Worried Mom in Nevada Dear Worried Mom Children are more resilient than we sometimes think You should not leave this world with this unfinished business Your son deserves to know that because your husband felt that revealing that you needed artificial insemination to conceive would make him seem less manly you couldn t disclose this significant information while he was living How sad is that because it wouldn t have made him less loved or less of a role model Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren also known as Jeanne Phillips and was founded by her mother Pauline Phillips Contact Dear Abby at www DearAbby com or P O Box Los Angeles CA
