DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a very busy couple of weeks coming up. I have my last round of midterms, Thanksgiving break, finals, moving back home, Christmas, visiting family, then New Year’s. I am looking forward to getting to see family and friends and going back home for a while, but I started thinking about how much work and travel I am going to be doing until January, and it completely stressed me out. I do not want to cut anything from my schedule, but I am worried that I am going to burn out and not do my best or have the right attitude.

When I get overwhelmed, I tend to become a recluse, and I have way too many things to do and exciting events in the future to do that. Do you have any tips on how to handle stress with a full plate? How do you manage a busy life effectively? -- Busy Stress

DEAR BUSY STRESS: First, step back and review your upcoming schedule. Can you eliminate anything? Yes, there are other people involved, but if there’s a chance you don’t have to do every single thing on your list, consider cutting something out. Build in time for rest and quiet. Plan not to stay up all night every night. Schedule evenings in when you give yourself permission to do little to nothing -- literally. Build in downtime when you will play music, meditate, drink tea or nap. Eat as well as you can so that you keep up healthy habits. Be willing to say no when you need to pause.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have been taking a mental health break from many social media platforms. The content on my feed had become very superficial and a waste of time. I could not afford to be distracted by my phone as much, so I cut out a lot of time. However, I realized that in the process, I lost contact with a lot of people. Besides my closest friends from home and college, I do not text often. I used Snapchat primarily for communication, and with my reduced time on the app, the number of people I talk to cut in half. I do not know what to think of it because I am sure it may appear that I am ignoring most of these people. However, if they truly wanted to maintain contact with me, it would not be hard to find other ways to do so. Many of the people I did not even think about until I opened the app again. Do you think it is worth it to maintain superficial online friendships? -- Superficial Friends

DEAR SUPERFICIAL FRIENDS: My mother used to say that you are lucky if your true friends add up to no more than the five fingers on one hand. You do not need a bevy of social media “friends.” It’s fine if you hear from those peripheral people on occasion, but it’s also absolutely fine if you never hear from them again. Rather than working to build back that collective of social contacts, fill your time with meaningful activities -- hobbies, time spent with family and actual friends, time alone, etc.

(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'm a perfectionist, and it's causing me a lot of stress. I recently accepted a job that proved to be overwhelming to me. I thought I would be good at it, but I had to stretch a lot, and it just seemed like I was not doing anything right. I ended up quitting after one week. I felt like such a failure. My boss didn’t say that I was doing a bad job, but she kept pointing out things that I needed to work on. I just couldn't take it. Now I am unemployed and feel like even more of a loser. How can I regain my confidence when my perfectionism is probably what landed me here in the first place? -- Crippling Perfectionism

DEAR CRIPPLING PERFECTIONISM: Give yourself credit for recognizing that you may be too much of a perfectionist. In our culture, being a high achiever -- being the best -- is lauded. Know that you are not alone in your desire to do everything right and likely better than others. Know, too, that this is unhealthy and can lead to situations like you described where you feel compelled to walk away rather than face whatever situation is before you.

According to VeryWellMind.com, signs of perfectionism include: all-or-nothing thinking, being highly critical, having unrealistic standards, focusing only on unmet goals, fear of failure, procrastination, defensiveness and low self-esteem.

You can work to combat those feelings by establishing daily affirmations that speak to your talents and goodness. Give yourself a break. Showing up and doing your best are good. And good is just fine. You may want to see a therapist to help you navigate the current crisis and help you develop strategies for managing your expectations and outcomes.

DEAR HARRIETTE: My partner and I have been together for a few years, and I worry a lot about things going wrong. How can I overcome my anxiety and ensure that our relationship continues to thrive? -- Worrywart

DEAR WORRYWART: Rather than focusing on what might go wrong, turn your lens on what you two can do together to fortify your relationship. What do you like about you as a couple? What makes you happy? Choose to do more of that. Talk to your partner about the future. What do you envision your life to be like in five years? Or 10? Notice what goals you share and what’s different. Talk about how you can work together toward collective goals. Design a plan, and work on that together.

Also, give each other space to work on individual goals that you may not share. Healthy relationships allow for each partner to grow as a person, even as the two of you grow as a couple. Making sure you both know that you are willing to allow for that space of personal expansion is important so that neither of you feels stifled. Being proactive today about your future can help alleviate whatever concerns you are harboring. Stop worrying, and make a plan together for your life.

(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 had a close friend group in high school that consisted of one group of girls and another group of guys. I maintained good relationships with everyone during my freshman year of college. Last summer, one of my friends and her boyfriend of three years broke up. Her boyfriend did not inform the guys about their relationship troubles, leading many of them to “choose his side.” As a result, the groups split, which was odd considering that our friendships were separate from my friends’ relationship.

One of the guys I was friends with has a little brother who goes to my college. We became good friends a couple of months ago. My old friend, his brother, is visiting and wants to catch up. However, we have had no contact since our friends broke up. Should I risk making it really awkward by addressing how upset it makes me that we do not speak anymore due to a situation that we had no involvement in? -- Reconnecting Friends

DEAR RECONNECTING FRIENDS: Start by just getting together with your old friend. See where the conversation goes. Rather than initially confronting him, tell him that you have missed him. See where he takes the conversation. Talk about your college experiences and what you have learned since you last spent time together. Ease into your disappointment about how your friendship broke off. If he is willing to discuss the situation, go for it. If not, decide if you can resume your friendship without unpacking the drama from the past.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I got my associate's degree when I graduated from 12th grade. I got a full ride to college that also included my housing for all four years, though I only need two. Now that I am in college, I realize that I want to switch my major. I do not think that I will enjoy my job later in life -- or even the rest of my schooling -- if I stick with it. My mother did not want me to get my degree during high school, and now she is putting up a huge fight regarding me switching my major. It is not her decision if I stay in school longer, because it is my life and she is not contributing financially. Do you think that I should push back and switch despite the big rift it will create between us? How do I explain that it is not her decision without being rude? -- Family Disapproval

DEAR FAMILY DISAPPROVAL: Let’s start with how fortunate you are to have options, even if they come with family pressure. That you got your associate’s degree so young gave you the option to finish college two years early. Changing your mind about your career direction is common. Yes, that will mean you have to take more classes and extend your time in school, but it’s better to figure that out now, especially when you have a full ride to complete your education. The blessing is that she doesn’t have to pay for it.

As far as your mother goes, she wants the best for you -- even if it doesn’t feel like it. Thank her for her concern. Admit that she may have been right about your associate's degree, but you will prove to her that you are responsible. Tell her you are grateful for all of her concern, but you have to make this decision on your own.

(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.)