Hello and welcome to Psych Central! I am assuming you are thinking about the trends toward meditation/adjusting thinking processes (CBT), etc. as evidence that psychiatry/psychology is getting less scientific. I have considered these trends, and I lean toward the idea that we need help from every avenue we can get until we are able to learn more about what's happening in the brain and how to more directly intervene! I even tried hypnosis, and I do believe it helped me to get rid of some of my anger from the past. (Well, hypnosis was the big deal with Freud initially until he was scared off of it. Then he just had people relax and say whatever came into their heads--free association.) Are you saying you don't want to see a therapist or psychiatrist because of these trends? (Just wondering. I'm probably putting words into your mouth.)

I assume you mean that lots of young people engage in binge drinking? I don't know many people in their thirties who are big binge drinkers, though. I know it's common with some folks, but I assume the issue is whether it can be controlled and only done occasionally and not associated with alcoholism and maybe using alcohol as a way of avoiding problems.

I was surprised myself at how much emphasis on drinking was in the sanity test, but it has been validated as a good test, so there must be some reason why it can be seen as a problem. At least I scored lower as a result.

As far as your yoga instructor, my take on her behavior is that she feels like she needs to emphasize her role as your teacher--not your friend--when you are in class with her. So, I don't think you need to be greatly concerned about this issue. (I used to be a teacher.)

I'm not sure about your sadness, but I am wondering if your trying to distance yourself from others is playing a role. But, then, some family members do need to be held at a distance from my experience! I know it's tough not to have close friends. I am thinking you are looking at how things are in your life and how they could be, which can definitely bring on sadness.

It sounds like you are working on yourself, which is great. Maybe you can get some more insights here. And gradually head more toward the way you would like to be.

I hope I helped a bit, anyway! At least I tried!