Q. Do you think a relationship can work as long-distance when it hasn’t become serious yet? A guy I’ve been dating for three months is taking a job transfer. Part of me is wondering if I should expend my emotional energy trying to keep something going with him. He talks about how cheap the flights are, but I don’t know that I’m there yet.

It seems your real question is, “How can I get more serious with someone I’m not interested in getting more serious with?”

Throwing a long-distance angle into a new relationship is tough, and careful deliberations are imperative. But I’m sensing a major “meh” on your part. You’ve been dating for three months, not three days — motivation should be higher. When you’re into someone, your instinct is to think of ways to make it work rather than trying to get a random psychologist to convince you.

Q. My mother is constantly making negative comments about the new guy I’m dating. I don’t know what’s with her, because she’s usually pretty supportive. It makes me not want to share anything with her. I’ve tried telling her to lay off, but she keeps at it and is being very judgmental. I’m wondering whether it’s a religious prejudice, since he’s from a different faith.

The urge to not share with your mother might be a good one. When someone repeatedly makes us feel bad about an aspect of our lives, as long as we’re sure their concerns are not legitimate, we need to do what we can to shut them up.

In this case, that means not bringing up this guy as much — not in a vindictive “Mom, you’ve ruined my opinion of you and I’m never telling you anything again” kind of way, but in a subtle strengthening of your boundaries.

That said, do ask yourself whether there’s any credence to her concerns, especially because she’s been supportive before. Bigotry is unacceptable, of course, but sometimes dysfunctional relationships begin with friends and family looking on in horror at the person’s denial of warning signs.

Send questions for clinical psychologist Andrea Bonior to baggage@newsexpress.com.