I'm sorry for your trauma but I think you may have received some bad advice about how to treat your anxiety.

You say the last thing you remember is falling asleep. You do not mention if anyone was able to tell you what your behavior was like while you were on the plane, but with the mix of meds you took it could have been behavior deemed unacceptable by the flight crew.

Alcohol should not be mixed with those meds. Please let your doctor know about the incident so you can move forward and get treatment for your anxiety which will not have these unintended consequences.

You don't say if marriage is what you are looking for but I suspect it is. And that is fine. It's OK to say so and look for a partner with similar goals. I think women in this generation have been told they don't "need" a man which they take to mean they shouldn't admit that they would like to have a partner to raise a family, etc.

I too had a boyfriend break up with me "out of the blue" when I was your age and I was devastated. He married a paralegal in his firm 8 months later. I didn't date for seven years after that because I thought that if he rejected me I must not be worth anyone else's attention. In hindsight it was not an intimate relationship and I'm so glad we did not end up together.

It took lots of therapy for me to realize what I really wanted and to be more willing to actively search for companionship.

I ended up meeting a man at work who had similar goals to mine regarding our relationship and we became engaged 2 months after our first date. He is 22 years older than I am which horrified my mother (and others) but it's better than any relationship I could have imagined.

Good luck. Keep going after what you want!

LW

You guys are more than a close knit bunch. You are enmeshed. You can move across town or to Australia but you've got to get some boundaries with your family. And I understand the dog thing but that's no reason to be stuck where you are for the next ten years.

BTW what a great opportunity to have dual citizenship! I would take advantage of that despite the cost.

If you think you can be self-supporting with your art that's great but a graduate degree can never hurt as there are many "artists" around in name only since they cannot ever sell their work.

Good luck with your decision. But move away wherever it may be.

What in the world? Is he underemployed? Why are his support payments for 3 children less than $600 a month?

I am really impressed with your ability to make ends meet without any help. I'm sorry you're not getting more help from your children's father.

There is no shame in getting your children fed at a soup kitchen. They will learn to be resourceful.

This is in such....poor taste.

My mom had terrible breath and I didn't know why. Turns out she had a dentist phobia. Once she went back to the dentist, got her teeth cleaned and started drinking more water as he advised , the problem went away. So, not much help as I never confronted her , but I feel your concern. Maybe start by asking about her dental visit record.

I understand your dilemma. You have a history with this guy and you want to be married. I was in a similar situation when I was around your age. The guy I was dating "wasn't ready" to get married. What I came to understand after he broke up with me and was engaged to someone else 7 months later was that he wasn't ready to marry ME. Don't put up with someone putting conditions on the relationship. I know it's hard to think about starting over but, find someone who is ready to get married and wants to marry YOU ( at the same time).

You've got to set some boundaries. Are you going to get fired if you leave at 5:00? I don't know but I would think if a major part of your job is fielding e-mails, you might approach your boss about being able to do this remotely from home in the evenings after you've had some time to yourself. Also, if working these hours are the general expectation at your place of employment is that going to change when you get promoted/ have a baby?

Because a compromise just delays what is really needed.

Since you don't sound miserably unhappy, stay until the kids are in college. Be honest with your wife about the fact that you're not sure you can stay forever but you're willing to stay for the kids for now. See how she feels about that. It'll be better for the kids. My mom waited at least 10 years to divorce my father for this reason and while it was probably hard for her I think we faired better for it.

If your father has achieved so much "success", why are you drowning in $100,000 of debt accumulated while pursuing your undergraduate degree?

I'm sorry you feel trapped but I think part of the fear is that you know becoming a lawyer may not prove to be a path to "success" and money. You're right in saying there's more to life than the big house and cars.

Good luck in making your decision.

Thoughtful people do not make you ask repeatedly for their half of expenses. If he's so brilliant and creative he would have a job. He's not clueless about money; he has some real character flaws that probably aren't going to be eradicated any time soon.

Go find someone who values your responsible nature and don't wait five years to do it.

Guys like this will rely upon a woman to "care" for them forever.

Good luck.