DEAR CAROLYN

Dear Carolyn: My closest friend of the past dozen years has been telling me I should participate in a guided hallucinogenic-therapy session because of what she considers my anxiety problem.

I am an anxious person, no doubt. Mostly it serves to make me work harder, spend less, and deliberate both sides of a decision before committing to one. I’m highly successful in my career, and colleagues are always surprised to learn there’s an undercurrent of anxiety fueling my hard work.

My friend has talked repeatedly about how abnormal my anxiety is and asks why I would accept this state. But other women I know also confess that anxiety plays a significant role in propelling them forward – deemed perfectionism, I’d guess.

This friend has asked almost once a week if I’ll join her in a session. She even offered to pay for it. I haven’t figured out how to safely navigate a clear response to her. Can you help me?

– Pressured

Pressured: Why is it “safe” for her to intrude into your psychic business on a weekly basis, but not “safe” for you to insist she stand down? It does not matter whether you have anxiety, whether you’re normal, whether you’re happy.

It’s your right to say no. Being “open to learning more,” meanwhile, is more yes than no. So say no unequivocally: “I have heard you and thought about it, and my answer is no.”

And if she presses: “Please stop.”

To risk becoming part of the same problem we’re trying to solve here: If you find you can’t stand up to invaders of your personal space in this basic, definitive way, then it might behoove you to line up some therapy sessions to give your reasons a closer look.

Email Carolyn at tellme@washpost.com, follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/carolyn.hax or chat with her each Friday at washingtonpost.com.