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Dear Abby: My son-in-law won’t stop sending me cat videos
Dear Abby replied to two readers: a woman still struggling with the effects of sexual assault by a former supervisor, and someone receiving frequent cat pictures from her son-in-law. The responses point to seeking specialist support after trauma and setting a considerate boundary in everyday family communication.
The first reader said the assault happened at work more than 20 years ago and that returning to her hometown brought intense triggers; she and her husband are moving again, and she plans to pursue a specialised form of PTSD therapy. Abby encouraged her to work with her therapist and shared advice on documenting workplace assaults and seeking outside support, including RAINN’s hotline. To the second reader, who gets two or three cat pictures a day, Abby suggested asking her son-in-law to send them together once a week.
In short
- A reader describes lasting effects of workplace sexual assault.
- Abby recommends specialist therapy and points to RAINN support.
- For frequent cat texts, Abby suggests a weekly batch.
Explained simply
Dear Abby is a long-running advice column in which readers write about personal problems and receive guidance from its namesake, an advice columnist. The letters can cover serious experiences as well as everyday disagreements.
Sexual assault can have lasting effects, and reminders of a traumatic event may cause distress years later; some people seek help from a therapist trained in trauma care. The other letter concerns a family member’s frequent messages: agreeing on when or how often to share them can help set a considerate boundary.