This message comes from Hyperfixed, a Radiotopia podcast.

In each episode, host Alex Goldman sets himself on a listener's unsolvable problem

and explores the hidden systems that created that problem in the first place.

Subscribe to Hyperfixed wherever you get your podcasts.

You're listening to LifeKit.

From NPR.

Hey, everybody. it's Mariel.

The relationships we have with the people we're close to can be so good for us, and they can

also be incredibly frustrating. Our friends, our partners, our family members, our colleagues,

they sometimes disappoint us,

often in patterns that repeat over and over again and make you feel like you're at an impasse.

Mariah Seeger is a licensed marriage and family therapist.

Her practice is called BFF Therapy, and she has a lot of advice for navigating these moments.

On this edition of Dear Life Kit, the series from reporter Andy Tagle,

Andy asks Mariah a series of anonymous questions from listeners who are at the end of their ropes.

The questions will come from different arenas of life, friendship, romantic love, work,

but they all come from folks who've reached a breaking point with the people around them.

This message comes from a hidden brain, the show that's all about why we do what we do.

Tune in every week to better understand yourself and the people around you. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Do you have a question that no one in your life can help with?

Something that makes the people around you go, yikes, what a weird question.

Well, freak, hear on how to do everything, we want to help you out.

...