ClickyClack

First, I wouldn't take psychiatric drugs from a pediatrician. It's not their area, get an opinion from a real pediatric psychologist/psychiatrist. But the meds, at best, will only cover it - even on them, and even if they work, she's going to need to learn good, proactive coping techniques. You and your daughter are going to need GOOD counseling, to learn good, solid, proven techniques to help her progress. The problem is finding the GOOD counseling, there are a surprising number that leave much to be desired. Start learning techniques now, because progress will be slow. How much sleep is she getting each night? Lack of sleep will amplify about any negative personality trait, and at 7 years old, she still needs about 10-11 hours per night. My 6-year-old son has some pretty minor personality issues that we're working on, but if he's been short on sleep for a couple of nights... the way he acts would just about qualify him for medication!

I think that every parent - and especially the OP - could benefit from reading this book. It talks about normal sexual development from birth to adulthood, and most people are surprised at just how normal and universal some of the things are that shock them in their children.

When I was first baptized, I read the three volumes of "Doctrines of Salvation", from Joseph Fielding Smith and Bruce R. McConkie. They're pretty old-school, but there is some good, solid, down-to-the-facts teaching in them.

Blunt, to the point.... And true. I am sure that a LOT of people who were there for the presentation were offended. The truth hurts.

How do you know if someone in the room is a vegetarian? Don't worry, they'll tell you. Sorry, I hope that doesn't offend, OP. Eating meat is alright. Not eating meat is better. So while it's great to not eat it (or to at least eat it sparingly), preaching that meat should not be eaten is not in accordance with God's word. There are times when eating meat is actually more healthy. As one of the largest examples, children require cholesterol (and high amounts of fat) for proper neural development. Cholesterol, especially, is vital for proper myalinization of the brain and nervous system, which happens until they are about 2-3 years old. Once they are weaned, vegetarian diets cannot provide cholesterol, and are more difficult to provide the high levels of fat (about 1/3 of their calories should be from fat). Lots of avocados can take care of the fat, but cholesterol... there's only one source of that, and it's animals. However, with those exceptions, there are very few dietary problems that can't be fixed with a proper, well-done vegetarian diet. These days, because everything is fortified, and we have availability of large varieties of fruits and vegetables all year long thanks to international shipping, a good, balanced vegetarian diet is much more possible than in years past. However, before fortification of foods, the number of people who suffered and even died from nutritional deficiencies in the USA is quite surprising. And that's not from starvation or lack of calories, but from deficiencies in various vitamins and minerals.

You probably wouldn't have rote, repeated conversations with your friends (unless your OCD is quite severe), because that's just not how you talk to people. So, imagine that Heavenly Father is right there in the room with you, having a conversation with you, and speak as if He were. The part of our brain that turns on all of the circuitry having to deal with interactions with other people is quite dependent upon seeing a face in order to get it running. But, you can learn to override that and get it running without seeing a face, just as you have (probably) learned to override it and get it running when you're talking on a telephone.

The keys to working shorter hours are to be proactive in preventing problems before they arise, and in automating, reducing, and eliminating the repetitive jobs, and those that take your time. I administer the desktops, servers, and network of an online retailer and their call center. There's a lot to be done, I could never do it if I wasn't extremely proactive in keeping things working smoothly. Keep a log of each task you perform each day, and how long they take. After a couple of weeks, look at what takes most of your time, and devote resources to improving the efficiency in that area. If you have good superiors, they will let you. But if you don't, they will rather use you up as cheap labor, until you burn out, rather than make any investment in their infrastructure. If that's the case, find better people to work for. All of that being said, with a third of a century of working with computers, the difference between an average position and salary and the great one that I have has been as much due to work and investment in my interpersonal skills as in my computer skills.

My story is not too much different... I was baptized when I was 17, and went on a mission when I was 19, and I'm the only member of the Church in my family. When I told my parents, they were not happy about it, and tried pretty hard to pressure me into staying, or at least waiting until I had finished college. But, I was excited to go, I wanted to go, and I knew that I should go. At first, I kept trying to reason with them, and tell them all of the reasons why going at 19 was right. That never did get anywhere (we're all awfully stubborn and bull-headed in my family....), so finally I just said "Mom, Dad... I'm not asking you if I can go. I'm telling you that I am going. I realize that you want me to do things differently, but I'm going." That at least got them to stop trying to get me to stay. And hey, I even got a little support... when my parents dropped me off at the MTC, the Spirit really seemed to touch them, and my father hugged me and said "You've chosen what you want to do, so follow through." That may not sound like much... but as far as I can remember, that's the most positive, supportive thing that my father has ever said to me. Garments... start with cotton-poly. It's probably the most like wearing regular undershirts and underwear. Then try one of each of the different fabrics. They're quite inexpensive, so a full set in each of the fabrics might run $15 or so total. Yes, when you go through for your own endowment, someone (one of the temple presidency, as I recall) will have a talk with you (and any others going through for the first time that day) about the garments, proper care, use, etc.. Your ward probably also has temple prep classes as well, that used to be mandatory, but that may have changed.

Now I think we must be related or something. My first electronic repair was about the same age... I spilled a large cup of coca-cola into the computer. The screen turned blank, and I reached down and yanked out the power cord. I only had about two hours until my parents came home, so I opened it up, took the mainboard out (this was a C-64), and washed it off in the bathtub with soap and water. Then I dried it with a hair dryer, reassembled everything, and it worked - except for the keys. Then I realized that the membranes were holding water, so I took it apart again, and took the hair dryer to the keyboard membrane. That got almost all of them working in time for my parents to get home, and they didn't use it that night... so I took it apart again the next day, and got ALL of the keys working, with my parents never having known.

Yeah, target rifles can be quite heavy. Usually they're not stiff, at least not in their action, but they do demand more physical strength than many people realize. I was on the high school rifle team, and working on my marksmanship every morning was BLISS. Having something that forces me to be calm and focus is soooo good for me. These days, I mostly work on my pistol marksmanship. A few hours at the range, a few hundred rounds, and some steel plates to ring completely and I am a changed, rejuvenated man. I come back more calm, peaceful, warm... I've satisfied my need to work with my hands, my need to focus on improving something about myself, I've spent time outdoors, and I've been able to shoot. I always hate taking the hours away from my family, but then I'm always much better for having done it. And hey, then I get to spend an hour reloading ammo for the next time. It's a win-win!

Touche!

Computers. I must be a hipster, because I was doing programming, admin, and networking since way before it was cool. The job that I have right now is about as close to a perfect job for me as I can imagine. It took me years of working my way up, learning even more stuff, and trying out jobs that weren't good fits, until I found this one, and I've been where I'm at for 13 years now. My sympathy goes out to all of the people who don't have it so well. At one point, when I was young, I spent two years at a job that was absolutely HORRIBLE. But it made me realize that if I wanted things to be different, I had to work even harder and learn even more than I knew at the time. I'm still doing that, learning and improving are just part of my personality.

Reading a book in the back yard on a cool night.

I seem to have the work week of a Frenchman, but I earn about double the average US salary. I got lucky, I work in the field that has been a past-time, hobby, and even passion of mine since I was 8 years old. I went to college for something different, but went back to what I enjoyed and was good at, and having quite literally prepared myself since childhood has paid off quite well. I think that one of the biggest problems that young people face today is that they don't start preparing for (or even choosing) a career path until much, much later than they should. I met a surprising number of people with three years of college behind them who STILL didn't know what they wanted to do.

Here's the "Straight Dope" answer.

Do you *need* the feelings that something is wrong? Personally, when I've beat myself up over feeling that something is wrong, it's always made it HARDER to change. Changing as a rational decision has worked far better for me. After sitting down and making some strong realizations about what I REALLY wanted in life, I could then say to myself "Even though behavior (xyz) that I want to do right now seems really important, fun, or even necessary, it's not going to get me to what I truly want in life. What are some things I could do instead to achieve my goals? I've heard a talk from an addiction counselor who also says that the feelings of guilt and shame are counter-productive. Let me see if I can find where I heard that, it was a pretty darn good talk for changing ANY behavior, not just addictions... Here you go. Good stuff for everybody to listen to.

There are two issues here: 1. Your marriage 2. Your relationship with God. All too often, when problems with #1 crop up, people let it hamper #2. Don't let that happen. Fixing #1 is easy... confess, repent, move on. Sadly, bad marriages are tough, tough situations with no easy answers, and you have my sympathy and support.

+1 on both of those points.

Lenz's law, baby. One of the least-known, least-understood laws describing our universe... but one that affects every person on a daily basis, both for good and bad.

I can understand the uncomfortable, but ugly or fat? If your friends are relying on their clothing (especially if it's the revealing nature of their clothing) to keep them from feeling ugly and/or fat... then they probably need to sit down and think about where true self-worth comes from, and just what makes a person beautiful. I've seen women in garment-appropriate attire which are, to reveal my inner thoughts.... insanely beautiful. Indeed, just the fact that they wear garment-appropriate attire makes them more beautiful to me.

Terrific quote!

I can sympathize. I spent two years riding a bicycle around central, hot Mexico (most often 300+ miles per week) in not just garments, but slacks, a shirt, and tie, with a backpack full of stuff on my back. I'm not exaggerating when I say that a 105F day was actually a relief from the normal summer days. While having your garments fitting, or of the right material may lessen the impact, there's no way to completely alleviate the heating effects of having a second layer. But, remember, "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven". Aside from clothing, the two best things you can do to stay cool are to lose weight and cut your hair shorter. If either of those are possible, give them a try.

I don't have to worry about that in my life. My mother has specifically told me that I'm not going to receive any inheritance, because "I know that you pay tithing, and I don't want any of it to go to the Church." I guess that makes life nice and simple for me.

Consumption of caffeine, and the subsequent poor quality of sleep, is one of the things that makes the lives of MANY people less than it could be. No matter how well you think you sleep when you've had some caffeine, scientific tests show otherwise. And sleeplessness is a much larger problem than most recognize. And with the half-life of caffeine, you have to stop drinking it by noon, or earlier, if you want enough of it out of you before bedtime. So... I sometimes have one when I wake up. But no later.

I come from a long line of addicts. My only brother is an addict, my mother is an addict, her mother and father were addicts. I can tell you two things: 1. Addiction will destroy your life and the lives of those around you in ways that you can't imagine. 2. By the time you know that addiction may be a problem for you, it's far too late. A lot of my non-LDS friends have said "Oh, come on, you can have a beer once in a while." I just tell them "Maybe I can, maybe I can't. But I've seen what alcoholism does to families, and I'm not going to take a chance and find out."