DEAR ABBY: Some people may think my problem is silly, but they don't realize how serious it is to me. Please don't laugh, because I have no control over this, and it is making my life miserable.
My problem is jealousy. I am jealous of all other females, and it has made my life pure hell. I am 37 years old and the mother of two children. I have a good husband, if he can manage to live with me. My family and friends, my husband and even my children think I am way overboard with my feelings of jealousy.
Please help me. This is not a joke. Jealousy is ruining my life. -- JEALOUS JULIA IN OHIO
DEAR JEALOUS JULIA: Jealousy is no laughing matter. As you know firsthand, it can make you and those around you miserable.
Until you learn to feel more secure about yourself, you will probably continue to have these feelings. Short-term therapy, focused specifically on this issue, will help you recognize that your feelings are not based in reality, and will give you useful tools to manage them. You may have to work hard to conquer this, as any counselor will tell you, but it can be done.