Dear 11. soc,

For the past few months I’ve been quite paranoid of my family and loved ones getting into a car accident or just dying. I have always been a little bit scared of driving fast, especially if it’s dark or raining outside. But now when I’m in a car with my dad or when my parents have been driving alone for some time, I get really scared that something might have happened to them. The paranoia stops only when they get back home. And sometimes I just listen to sad songs when a dark thought gets into my head. For example – I think of how my parents won’t live forever and how bad and sad my life will be when they do pass away. After some crying the thoughts go away. How can I stop myself from getting scared of things I can’t control? And can this be counted as serious paranoia?

Dear Reader,

It appears that you’ve been really paranoid, to the point where it affects your life. I would advise you to talk to your loved ones about it and think about how unlikely it is to actually happen. You can also find something to take your mind off of it: for example – sports activities, reading or drawing.

Dear 11. soc,

It has been quite rainy these past few days, because of that, there are a lot of snails creeping around my front yard. My mother is very keen on stomping on them because they are not good for the garden. She sometimes does it while I’m next to her, and it really bugs me out. (The snails don’t look good either after they have been stomped on.) My grandmother and great uncle find it funny that I’m so concerned. They don’t really get me. The same is for grandmother and great aunt — they both just dismissively wave their hand and keep talking about the new show on TV3. I have asked my mother to stop doing that ,or at least do it while I’m not next to her, but she won’t listen. How can I change her mind if she doesn’t want it to be changed?

Dear Reader,

Perhaps you can show her the benefits of snails, and how maybe constantly stomping them is not the way. It shouldn’t be hard for your mother to hear you out and change her bad habit.

Dear Abby: I love reading and especially buying books. Sometimes I read a book in one sitting, but then there are some really interesting books that I just can’t make myself finish. I just read a few chapters and then find and start reading a completely new book that has caught my attention. And now I have at least 7 books that I haven’t (but would love to) finished.

Love for reading books is in my family. My aunt and uncle have a really big collection of books in their house. My cousin doesn’t appreciate it as much as I do — she doesn’t like to read books. So the last time I visited them, I counted how many books have I started to read but didn’t finish in their collection. There were a lot of books, and my grandmother and little brother even mocked me for that. So tell me, why is that I can’t make myself finish a book?

Dear Reader,

You shouldn’t be worried about this. My solution to this would be to keep track of your progress in the book. White down what you remember. Maybe sit down with your parents, sibling and read together? Maybe that way you could actually finish some books.