My email box has become a wild place, full of new, exotic creatures. This influx of new email organisms comes courtesy of my podcast, Ask Science Mike. People send me all sorts of questions, and in doing so bare their inner life to a stranger. My show is about facilitating an open, honest conversation about science, faith, and life with thousands of other people.

A lot of these questions are very similar to one another. I get over one hundred questions a week about masturbation, for example. The similarity of many questions is not monotonous. Quite the contrary–I find it comforting that some many of us share the same secret fears and Things We Want To Ask But Are Afraid.

Among the herds of similar questions though, rarer sights can be found. The Unique Questions are often startling, and one of my favorite things about the show. There is no better gift you can offer someone who loves to teach than a brand new question.

I take great joy in turning information that took me months to research into a 5 minutes answer. I take even greater joy in offering solidarity to people who think they are alone. This comes at a cost. Sometimes the questions are dark in a way I'm not prepared for.

One such question floored me on this week's show. The return email address was fake–a truly anonymous message. It read:

Hi Mike,

I was sexual abused by multiple family members during childhood. This has caused a lot of problems in my life, but one is worse than the others. I am attracted to children. I have never molested a child, but I have sometimes searched the Internet for images of children. I am always filled with disgust when I do this, and I hate myself for what I am.

I know you’ll tell me I should get help, but how can I do that? If anyone knew this, I wouldn’t be able to keep a job, or have friends. I am so scared. Most of the time I want to die, and I have considered suicide.

What can I do?