Dear Queenie,

I’m in high school and I have good grades, but I don’t feel like I’m good enough for anything and I’m sad all the time.

I don’t want to talk to my family about it because they’ll just think I get offended too easily and feel sorry for me.

Queenie, can you give me some help?—Depressed teenager

Dear Teenager,

You should be able to talk to your parents about how you feel, but if you cannot, talk to some other adult relative you can trust, or to a teacher or school counsellor you trust, or perhaps your family doctor.

Thank you for trusting me enough to ask for my advice. Please follow it as soon as you can.

Dear Queenie,

Whenever we are going somewhere, my wife is always late getting ready to go.

Queenie, how can I get her to be on time?—Another frustrated husband

Dear Husband,

Ask her whether she really wants to go, and if necessary, go without her and let her find her own way to get there if she really wants to go.

Dear Queenie,

When my mother took me and my girlfriend out to dinner, the two of us got kind of affectionate while we were waiting to be served and my mother got upset because she thought we were behaving badly in public.

Queenie, did we really do something wrong?—Etty Ket

Dear Etty Ket,

That depends on just how “affectionately” you were behaving. If your mother was embarrassed, yes, you went too far.

Dear Queenie,

My wife has started the change of life [menopause] and doesn’t want any kind of sexual contact any more. I could get along without sex, but I miss having any signs of affection.

Queenie, what can I do?—Frustrated husband

Dear Husband,

There are medical treatments that would help your wife deal with sexual contact. And professional counselling (Yes, I know I recommend this all the time!) would help her understand how to deal with your emotional needs.