DEAR HARRIETTE: I have high blood pressure, and I take medication for it. Pretty much nobody in my friend group knows about it because I just don’t think it’s any of their business. I’m a very private person.

The other day when we finally got to meet up in the park -- socially distanced, of course -- I dropped my purse and everything fell out, including my high blood pressure medicine. One of my friends went to help me retrieve everything, and she picked up my meds. She looked at the bottle and asked me why I didn’t tell her I had HBP. I was offended. I don’t have to talk about my medical condition. Even though she knew what the medication was for, I still felt like it was wrong for her to pry. I told her I didn’t want to talk about it. Am I wrong for being so tight-lipped? She is my good friend, but I don’t want anybody in my business. -- Outed

DEAR OUTED: You have the right to your privacy, to be sure. But step back a moment and ask yourself why you are so overly sensitive to your good friend knowing about your condition. Since she knew immediately what the medication was for, chances are, she or someone close to her may be suffering from the disease. Instead of hiding out and dealing with your illness in isolation, consider gaining support by talking about it with a select group of friends, or even just one. You can request confidentiality. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee that she will say nothing, but it certainly should make her more thoughtful about it.

Millions of Americans suffer from high blood pressure. Having support as you work to make smart choices about diet, exercise and lifestyle changes can be helpful as you work to control this disease. For more information on how to manage your HBP, go to mayocl.in/39lRg0v.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am part of a new team at my job, and things are not going very well. There was consolidation recently that resulted in a small group of us being folded into another department. The way my new boss works is totally different from my old boss, and I am having to figure it out for myself because my new boss doesn’t give me any instructions about procedures. I feel like I’m constantly stepping on landmines because I don’t know what this boss expects. How can I smooth things over? I feel like we need to start all over again. -- Restart

DEAR RESTART: Since your new boss did not take the initiative to give you the lay of the land, you need to request it. Ask for guidelines and procedures on how this team operates. Request written materials that outline processes so that you can be in better alignment. Do your best to cultivate a rapport with your boss and with other team members. It’s not the easiest thing to do in this virtual world, but make an effort. Stay engaged as you work to figure out how to find a way of working with this new team.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR HARRIETTE: What should I do instead of calling the cops? I am an Asian woman, and I live in an apartment in Philadelphia in an area with a fairly high crime rate. Because of my hours (I work at a grocery store), I often have to walk home alone just as it’s getting dark, and I am concerned that this puts me at risk.

That said, I am concerned about calling the police to a neighborhood that has many people of color, especially Black people. I do not think I am more at risk of being attacked by a Black person, and I would strongly prefer not to introduce the police into any situation in this community. However, if something were to happen while I’m walking back at night, which I have been raised to remember is all too possible as a young woman, what are some alternative actions I could take? -- Need Protection

DEAR NEED PROTECTION: You are right to be concerned about your safety during your evening walk home, and, sadly, you are also right that it can be tricky to engage police when there is a heightened understanding that Black people can be accused of crimes even when they are not committing them. Our police departments across the country are evaluating their procedures and redefining how they can support communities -- and it will take some time.

Two things you can do: Be proactive, and go speak to someone at your police precinct to inquire about what they would recommend to best support you. If extra patrolling happens during evening hours, that may be more helpful than a 911 call. You can also talk to your community board or neighborhood organization (if you have one) and suggest forming a neighborhood watch, where neighbors look out for one another.

DEAR HARRIETTE: At my job, we’ve just begun to go to the office a couple of days a week. During the remote period, we hired some new staff into our company. I was looking forward to finally meeting everyone and having in-person interactions with them, even in a limited capacity. However, one of the new employees seems to be flirting with me, and I am not interested. He keeps complimenting me and has tried to inquire about my personal life. I chalked it up to him being awkward and nice, but now he will text me after work hours and has asked me to get coffee sometime. Am I being paranoid? Does this guy just want a friend because of quarantine, or is he looking for love? Either way, how should I approach this situation? I don’t think I’m looking for an office romance. -- Drawing the Lines

DEAR DRAWING THE LINES: Be direct with this man so that there is no guessing going on. Tell him it is nice to get to know a new co-worker, but you are getting mixed signals from him. Say that you are happy to get to know him as a colleague, but you are not interested in dating, in case that’s what he had in mind.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have been insecure about my nose since I was a little girl. From the beginning of my teen years, I thought about how nice it would be to get a nose job. Now that I am an established working person, I am realizing that this would be completely financially viable for me, and I’m in a position to make this choice. I know that a nose job is a big deal and could change the way my face looks pretty drastically. However, it would be nice to use my autonomy and the money I’ve worked for to address an insecurity I’ve held for a long time. Should I go through with getting plastic surgery, or should I just learn to accept the way I look? -- Nose Job

DEAR NOSE JOB: Start with a consultation. Find a doctor by referral if you can. Meet and talk about what you want to do, and review images to discuss how you want your nose to look. Go over your health history with the doctor to ensure that you are healthy enough to undergo this procedure. Know that in some instances, adjusting your nose may also require adjusting other parts of your face. You can discuss all of the options with your doctor.

Ultimately, you can decide if the surgery is the right decision based on your comfort with the doctor and your conviction to have it done. Many people have had successful rhinoplasty surgery performed. This can boost your self-esteem, though you may still need to do some work on the inside to make a significant shift in feelings of self-worth.

DEAR HARRIETTE: My wife and I were thinking of having kids this year, as 2020 would be the perfect year for us financially and time-wise to begin the journey of starting a family. This, of course, was before the COVID crisis started. We have not been financially impacted by the crisis, as both of our jobs can be done remotely. However, we are naturally second-guessing the idea. We are thinking of immediate factors such as the fact that social distancing measures might hinder access to medical care, or that my wife might be at a higher risk to the virus during pregnancy. However, the bigger question for us is what it would be like to raise a child during these next couple of years when we are readjusting as a society. We were so excited to start a family, and COVID has really put a wrench in our plans. Would it be selfish to have kids now? Do we have to give up on our dream, or is there a responsible way for us to approach this situation? -- Planning for the Future

DEAR PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE: COVID-19 is forcing us all to readjust and reframe our plans. Only you can decide whether now is the right time for you to start a family, given the new circumstances. However, if you do go forward with it, you must know that things will be different from how you originally envisioned them, and you need to completely think through the ways in which the virus will change your plans, as you have already started to do. Think about child care and education, for example.

Having a child is a blessing, even during COVID-19. If you want to do so, make a plan, have faith and go for it.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)