DEAR ABBY: I'm a 22-year-old woman living in the Midwest. I was born here, but have also lived on both coasts. Having lived elsewhere, I have come to realize that the grass really IS greener on the other side.
I was forced to move back here at 17 because of a death in the family. Ever since, my life has been going down the drain. I'm depressed and unhappy. I have nothing here but bad memories.
The only thing keeping me here is my fiance. He loves living close to his friends and family, and he wants to stay. I can't talk him into moving. I am not willing to leave him and he feels the same. But I can't see myself being happy here or his being happy elsewhere. What should I do? -- UNSETTLED IN OHIO
DEAR UNSETTLED: If this is where you met the man you love, then surely not all the memories you have of that city are bad ones. Your unhappiness may stem from the fact that you have been spending too much time looking backward rather than living in the present and looking forward to the future.
Some sessions with a psychologist might help you unload the baggage from your past -- but if it doesn't, then my advice is that you take a break and revisit the coasts. If you do, you may decide that the grass is really greener in Ohio. And if not, you'll both be better off.