DEAR HARRIETTE: My brother told me he was diagnosed with diabetes. When he went for a medical checkup, the doctor tested him and his A1C number was extremely high. He was prescribed a particular medication that should regulate his blood sugar. When he told me all this at the time, he seemed worried but relieved in the sense that his doctor had given him medication that should help get his body under control.

I spoke to him to months later to see how he’s doing, and he says he hasn’t started taking the medication yet. I was shocked and asked him why. He shrugged it off and said, “I haven’t started yet.” End of discussion.

I am so worried about him. When I looked up the effects of uncontrolled diabetes, it made my head swim. He could die if he doesn’t take measures right away. What can I do to encourage him? -- Sick Brother, Detroit

DEAR SICK BROTHER: You cannot control your brother, but you can encourage him. One way is to scare him. Do some research on the complications that diabetics face -- anything from thirstiness and frequent urination to skin problems, kidney disease, blindness, neuropathy, amputations or stroke. When his condition is controlled, your brother stands a much better chance of living a healthy, productive life. For more information, you can visit the American Diabetes Association’s website: diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I’ve been going to a therapist for several years. In the beginning he was helpful, but now I’m beginning to question how serious he is about our time together. In our last session, he answered his phone twice. Though the calls were brief, they occurred in the middle of my paid-for time. In another recent session, he spent at least 15 minutes fidgeting with his smartphone while he was supposed to be listening to me. After a while, I stopped talking until he looked up and put the phone away.

I’m going to him to deal with sensitive issues. At the very least, I think he should pay full attention. Should I say something or stop going? -- Distracted Shrink, Philadelphia

DEAR DISTRACTED SHRINK: By all means, tell your therapist you do not appreciate his distracted behavior during your sessions. Point out all that you can remember, and make sure he is listening and receiving the message when you give it.

Depending on how you feel about working with him now will determine your next steps. If generally you think he does a good job and is still helpful to you, tell him you want to continue working with him, provided he is willing to stay focused on you during the entire session.

If you think it’s best to leave and find a new therapist, tell him you have decided to stop working with him. Thank him for the years he has helped you, and point out that you think it’s unprofessional to do the various things he has done in your sessions. Recommend he not behave that way with anyone else.

(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 so busy juggling family responsibilities and the grind of work that I have missed two important calls related to the charity work that I am doing. I feel horrible that I now look like a flake. I’m really not. What’s happened is I have overbooked my schedule and chaos seems to have ensued. I wrote to the woman I stood up twice now for phone meetings and expressed my apology for not following up. I assured her that I do want to have the meeting and asked to reschedule one more time. Is there anything else I should do? -- Stretched Too Thin, Milwaukee

DEAR STRETCHED TOO THIN: For the woman in question, you may want to reach out and give more explanation about your life right now to make it clear to her you are in the throes of a time management challenge.

In general, take a step back and assess your life. Write down your short-term and longer-term responsibilities. List them in categories based on the various projects you are undertaking. Include your personal life as its own category. Put deadlines and appointment times next to each item that requires it. Then include these key dates in your calendar. Put an alarm on your appointments that will remind you a few minutes before you need to make a call or go to a meeting. Finally, drop anything from your schedule that is not essential at this moment.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I’m getting so confused with social media these days. Two so-called “friends” just wrote to me asking to become my friend on Facebook. I felt sure that we were already friends, but I was busy, so I accepted without checking. The next thing I know, I’m getting direct messages from one of them that seem weird. When I looked at her page, it got even stranger. The messages on the page were in patois. This woman is American and, to my knowledge, only speaks English. I called my friend, and she told me her account had been hacked. It’s so creepy how people can do that. How can I protect myself better to avoid this kind of thing in the future? -- Hacked, Boston

DEAR HACKED: You can report the hacking of your friend to Facebook. You can make your page private rather than public. In this way, you control who gets to see your page or access it in any way. From now on, do not accept any friend requests without first checking to see if you have already friended that person. Also, check out the person’s page first. This will give you an indication of whether the person is who she or he is claiming to be, and whether you would like to be connected.

(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 in my 60s now, and I have had a chance to look back on things. I realize that I often hold a grudge against people. The few people who I used to consider my best friends are no longer close to me. We fell out years ago for one reason or another, mainly because something happened and I could not forgive them. I realize now how judgmental I have been. Nobody’s perfect, but somehow I thought that people should be kind of perfect when it came to being my friend. So many years later, I wish I could get some of those friendships back. The people are still alive, but I don’t know what I could possibly say to open that door. Any ideas? -- Down Memory Lane, Kansas City, Kansas

DEAR DOWN MEMORY LANE: Don’t underestimate the power of your own apology and overture to reconnect. Reach out to each of your old friends in the spirit of making amends. State how much you miss the friend, what you appreciate the most about the relationship you once had and that you hope it isn’t too late to rekindle it. Be honest about how your reaction to whatever happened years ago, coupled with your inability to forgive, helped to create a divide for all these years. Acknowledge that you all are getting older and that you want to make the effort to reconnect with your friends. Ask each friend directly if it is possible for you to get together in the near future.

DEAR HARRIETTE: All my daughter’s friends are getting double or triple piercings these days. I know this has been a trend for some years now, but I feel like this is not what my daughter should be doing.

We got her ears pierced years ago when she was an infant, but she has not been successful at wearing earrings without irritation up until this year. She recently has been wearing gold hoops, and she hasn’t had problems. I’m talking just a few weeks of wearing the hoops, though. I don’t think it’s wise for us to add piercings to her ears so soon. I think we should first determine if she can regularly wear earrings in the holes she has. I have expressed this to my young teenager, but she thinks I am being mean. What do you recommend? -- Protecting My Teen, Los Angeles

DEAR PROTECTING MY TEEN: You know your daughter’s medical history, and it is your job to reinforce what you know. You can also enlist the medical advice of your daughter’s pediatrician or even a dermatologist. Find out what the doctor’s recommendation is so you can share that with your daughter.

Beyond the practical, be prepared to talk to your daughter about peer pressure and how to make personal decisions that may be different from her friends’ choices. This is one of the toughest lessons to learn, but it is critical for your daughter so she can assess personally when the group choice should not be her choice. Your job is to help her to learn how to discern the difference.

(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.)