In addition to being at a minimum a world-class asshole, and potentially guilty of ugly acts, this guy doesn't appear to have absorbed any of the ENGLISH competence I assume an elite college like Duke University requires of its students??

By her absolutist word choice in the introduction above, Williams (1) is being ironic, (2) is writing an inflammatory hook for her article guaranteed to produce Reader Comments, or (3)has swallowed the Food Nazi Kool-Aid hook, line and sinker. Unfortunately I can't tell which one.

America's children are being taught all sorts of toxic things about food by watching their parents react to this shit. Obesity - You weigh too much. Anorexia - You weigh too little. Where is the healthy moderation? The middle ground? The - might I say it - common sense?

Moderation is the key. Balance. Give the kid a Ho-Ho once in a while - or they may buy a box on the sly, then hide in their room and eat them all in one sitting. If they won't eat the healthy and balanced dinner meal you provide, let them live off the fat of the land for the evening, don't cook something else.

Question where your "knowledge" comes from, please. If anyone tells me I can "only" do anything, a BIG 'OL RED FLAG goes up in my brain. Very little on this earth is absolute, and I automatically distrust anyone who couches their arguments in such black and white terms. Trust yourself a little.

I think regardless of how "careful" a moviemaker is, there are too many interpretations and judgment calls that must be made when fictionalizing an actual event.

I won't watch this movie. Documentaries, yes. Movies? No.

I would recommend you expand your definition of "family" a bit. Yes, your family of origin apparently has issues to spare, and you recognize and acknowledge this. You can't change them. Is it possible they're jealous and resentful of your success and are expressing it as you describe, devaluing you so they feel better about themselves?

Would it be possible to distance yourself a bit so their opinions can't hurt you so much? Do you really need the validation of people who apparently can't or won't assess the data in front of them?

Look to your friends - and to yourself - for the recognition and acknowlegement you crave.

...and I wish the people who have commented something to the effect of "Get a REAL problem, bucko" could live in my body for a week.

I am unable to filter out noises that most people would consider background noise and simply not hear. Cell phone conversations. Faucets dripping. Road noise. The clack of keyboards. And yes, chewing/mouth noises. The result of this is that my "flight or fight" mechanisms are engaged a lot of the time. And it is absolutely exhausting.

LW, check out the research into something called "sensory integration disorders." As far as coping mechanisms are concerned, noise-reduction headphones are a lifeline in public places. I find it is helpful to have a single LOUD noise to focus on rather than be bombarded by multiple small ones - so my tunes are always cranked in my car, the TV is always loud.

Work is the hardest. My company is addicted to lunch meetings, and there's always a "smacker" or two or ten in the room, and the crinkle of bags, crunching of potato chips and squeak of forks against styrofoam gets on my last nerve. After an hour of this I am strung tight and need serious decompression time.

I have found that decompression time - in an environment where you can control the noise - is key.

Good luck, LW. We may be under the radar, but know you're not alone.

I would place thumb-sucking in the same category as masturbation, picking one's nose, flossing teeth, or scratching your genitals or butt if they itch - these are private activities that no one else should have to be exposed to.

No one really gives that much of a shit. Really. Get over yourself.

If sports such as cycling or baseball were truly concerned with doping, they'd institute a lifetime ban on anyone proven to have doped.

Two years' suspension? Four years? Laughable, and an acceptable business risk to some athletes. If a lifetime ban is the price of getting caught, perhaps fewer athletes would consider it.

I'm with the LW; this situation would drive me NUTS. I am a major introvert. Even HEARING the phone that many times a day - regardless of who it was - would be very stressful.

That being said, people vary widely in their need for boundaries, privacy, intimacy, family time, closeness, community, and alone-time based on many factors - family of origin issues, and introversion/extroversion being only two factors I can immediately identify. It appears as though the LW and his GF are more than a bit out of synch. I would advise the LW to put some additional thought into what, specifically, about this situation concerns him the most. Is it the lack of individual privacy? Lack of "couple-time"? The apparent ((co)dependence that an adult daughter has with her parents? (Vomiting because she thinks she's disapponted them seems a bit extreme.)

I agree with a previous poster who said, in effect, Cary doesn't seem to be taking this issue seriously enough. "Suck it up, appreciate them!" doesn't help - this issue would be a deal-breaker for me if I was in this situation and some type of understanding or compromise couldn't be met. As Cary said, you have to get your own needs met, too. Think about what those needs are, and WHY they are. Best of luck.