FEATURES
6A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2016
Grown child worries parents Tomorrow’s horoscope
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
Dear Annie: Our only child is
30. “Delia” was diagnosed with
serious mental issues as a teen, but
with the help of a sensitive child
psychologist and an excellent child
psychiatrist, she did very well. But
as soon as Delia turned 18, she
aged out of the child psychiatrist’s
care. She only sees her new doc-
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scriptions. He rarely adjusts dos-
ages, and I suspect it’s because she
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has held a couple of decent jobs,
but after a few months, claims
that she’s bored and either quits or
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wage job and is just getting by.
She opens credit card accounts, but
ignores the bills when they come.
She has no employer-provided
health insurance and won’t sign up
for the government version, so we
cover her medical expenses.
We also help pay her rent, but
her apartment is a wreck and she
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her friends toss her out. Her car is
banged up from numerous fender
benders and is full of trash. Her
relationships start out OK, but she
gets clingy and demanding, and
pretty soon she is crying to my
wife that her boyfriend dumped
Annie’s
Mailbox
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
Kathy
Mitchell and
Marcy Sugar
her. She never takes responsibil-
ity for the breakups, so the pattern
is repeated. She has had two abor-
tions, claiming that she cannot tol-
erate birth control.
Intellectually, Delia is a smart
woman, but just doesn’t seem able
to manage the basic functions of
living. Without our help, we hon-
estly believe she’d end up on the
street. The strain is causing phys-
ical stress symptoms for my wife
and me, and we worry what will
happen when we are not around
to pick up the pieces. There don’t
seem to be any support groups for
parents in our situation. What can
we do? — Distraught Parents
Dear Parents: You sound like
loving and responsible parents,
and this situation is heartbreak-
ing. But there is support for you.
Please contact the National Alli-
ance on Mental Illness at nami.org
or their HelpLine at 1-800-950-
6264. NAMI has a Family Sup-
port Group, as well as their Fam-
ily-to-Family educational program
that will help you develop coping
skills. They also can make referrals
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be a better match for Delia if she is
willing to try.
Dear Annie: This is for “Older
and Wiser, Now,” who said that she
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was diagnosed with cancer that she
avoided her.
I developed breast cancer at the
age of 50. My sons and ex-husband
were of no help, and two of my sis-
ters did very little. My middle sister
helped, along with my best friend,
who was more of a sister than the
others combined. They took care
of me every day. I wouldn’t be
here if not for them. I want to tell
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afraid to offer a hand. You’d be sur-
prised how much it will be appre-
ciated. — Been There, Done That
Dear Been There: Thank you
for saying so. No matter how
afraid, we hope each person can
work up the courage to pick up the
phone and ask, “How can I help?”
or even, “I don’t know what to say,
but I want you to know I care about
you.”
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Tinker around
with the problem. Turn it and shake it and
poke at it to see what it’s made of. This one
doesn’t need such a delicate touch; rather, it
needs to be called out, opened up and ex-
amined fully.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Your tolerance
of a person’s behavior is exactly the thing that
keeps the dynamic alive. If you don’t want to
tolerate it anymore, put your foot down and
watch how quickly things turn around.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The one who
knows more than you do on the subject will
be mighty annoying indeed, especially if he
or she seems to revel in this. It’s something
to keep in mind next time the positions are
reversed.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Don’t expect
magic. Embrace a workmanlike aesthetic.
Keep putting in the hours and cranking out
the product. While you’re extremely busy with
this, magic just may alight on you.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Stories have the
power to change the world, so of course they
have the power to change your afternoon.
Give some thought to the way you’re going
to tell people about your life, because it will
matter now quite a lot more than you think.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). If only peo-
ple could just be very honestly themselves
around you, you could all relax. Unfortunate-
ly, some are still afraid of your judgment. With
more gentle encouragement you’ll turn it
around.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). It’s not rocket
science, just simple math. Play the game
twice and you’ll double your chances of win-
ning. Keep playing it and you’re bound to hit a
jackpot sooner or later. The game in question
FRANK AND ERNEST
BLONDIE
THATABABY
SALLY FORTH
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
B.C.
LOLA
DILBERT
SIX CHIX
BIZARRO
MUTTS
NON SEQUITUR
BABY BLUES
WIZARD OF ID
ZITS
ROSE IS ROSE
now is love.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You’re like
the seeker in the game. It’s not your prob-
lem if the others haven’t done their job. You
agreed on a certain amount of time and now,
ready or not, here you come.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Once
you get your backup plan in place, you may
find that you love it even more than the front-
line plan. Because you’re so prepared for
anything to happen you’ll go forward the con-
fidence that attracts only the best.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). This day
will require more than the usual amount of
pleasure and leisure. Instead of taking mo-
ments for relaxation, make relaxation your
prevalent attitude. You’ll actually be more pro-
ductive this way.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). This thing
about getting through it all by the skin of your
teeth — is it getting old yet? If you had a bet-
ter plan and more preparation you wouldn’t
have to be in constant reaction mode. Make
that happen!
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Friendship is
about more than discovering the other per-
son. It’s about discovering yourself through
the interactions. The closer you get to a love-
ly someone, the better you’ll know yourself.
SATURDAY’S BIRTHDAY (April 23). Your
charisma is way up this year! Swept into the
center of attention, you’ll attract love and
friendship in abundance. The good change
that happens in your life between now and
the end of June will give you the strength to
change bad habits and turn around nega-
tive trends. An investment pays in October.
Capricorn and Pisces adore you. Your lucky
numbers are: 4, 28, 22, 14 and 37.