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Couples Communication Issues – 7, Suspicion

By |2018-10-15T20:29:10+00:00March 29th, 2016|Communication Issues, Communication Problems, couples therapy|

Do you automatically brush away your partner’s promises to do chores or specific tasks with suspicion, thinking that it will never happen? Do you doubt your partner’s sincerity when they apologize, suspecting that they are just saying the right words, but don’t really mean it? Maybe you anticipate that you will have to do all the jobs your partner does over again because they won’t do it right or in a timely fashion. You are suspicious of their intentions and capabilities and that makes it hard for you to trust. It puts you on guard, watching for the next mistake or broken promise that will become your problem to handle. It’s not easy to have a loving and open connection when you are in this state, is it?

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Couples Communication Issues – Part 5, Standoffs!

By |2016-12-13T05:19:12+00:00February 13th, 2016|Communication Issues, Communication Problems, couples therapy|

You've had a fight with your partner. You are sure you are in the right, and you stand your ground. There is no compromise and you are willing to wait until your partner acknowledges it. You want to be vindicated and you want your partner to acknowledge that you are right and they are wrong. How sweet the thought of that is! So you go off to your private corner with your head held high, and wait. Meantime your partner also feels in the right. Your partner too is willing to wait until you see the error of your judgment, admit it and give them a victory. Your partner is caught in the same couples communication issue as you : a standoff!

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4 Ways Women Cause Marriage Trouble By Consulting a Family Member

By |2017-09-14T20:36:15+00:00September 18th, 2015|Communication Problems, couples therapy, Intimacy|

Are you frustrated and angry that you never know what's going on with your spouse and resent having to ask? Maybe you feel that your partner is not matching your expectations but have given up on trying to get through. If you are the husband you probably keep it in, make jokes about marriage with your friends, and try to keep the peace at home. But you are not likely to go to your family and talk about it - not to them, and especially not to or with your wife! But, if you are the wife, you may drop little hints here and there to your husband that he is disappointing or annoying you, maybe even hurting you by not being as involved as you would like.

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Is Your Relationship Safe From Negative Comparisons Against Your Partner??

By |2016-12-13T05:19:12+00:00July 29th, 2015|Anxiety therapy|

Getting dressed to go out to a friend’s house for a dinner party, thirty-three-year-old realtor Mara felt a pang of jealousy invade her body. An image of Ray, their host, always smartly dressed contrasted sharply with her thirty-five-year-old husband Seth, an entertainment lawyer, togged out in shorts, Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops! Driving to the event was uncomfortable. Mara wanted to disown her husband. She felt out of alignment with him and when they arrived at Ray’s place, envy crept up from the pit of her stomach to the roots of her hair. She snapped at Seth, openly disparaging him in front of others.

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Do You and Your Partner Agree on Your Goals for Marriage?

By |2017-09-13T20:55:49+00:00July 7th, 2015|Anxiety therapy, Communication Problems, Couples Counseling, Intimacy, relationship issues|

Six months into their relationship, 35-year-old part time banker Simone’s patience was wearing thin. When if ever would 39-year-old reporter Miguel feel comfortable enough to propose marriage? She wanted to make sure she wasn’t dating a guy who would string her along and then quit. She thought she had done so by asking him directly and having got the answer she wanted, assumed it was just a matter of time. But there was no marriage proposal happened. Miguel spent more time away from Simone, and when he was around he was tired, played on his phone or went out with old friends. Yet he replied that he did want to marry but there were fears he had to overcome.

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Four Ways To Understand a Sexless Marriage and Make it Work

By |2016-12-13T05:19:13+00:00June 16th, 2015|Anxiety therapy, Couples Counseling, Intimacy, relationship issues|

What is a sexless marriage? Is it lack of intercourse, or lack of any sexual contact? Is affection a part of a sexless marriage, or is touching not allowed? Maybe a sexless marriage is when there is no sexual contact and intercourse for more than a year! Is it a lack of libido , or is it intercourse that is conducted as a ritual or routine duty?

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The 5 Biggest Love Myths That Underpin Your Unhappiness

By |2016-12-13T05:19:13+00:00June 2nd, 2015|Anxiety therapy, Intimacy, relationship issues|

Most of us grow up with myths about what love is and ought to be like if it was real and trustworthy. We get it from fairy tales, love songs, country music, movies, folk lore and hearing our friends and family talk about their longings. We pay attention to the "happy ever after" ending in stories and dream that we too could be valuable and worthwhile enough to inspire that kind of devotional love. But inevitably we get disappointed, heartbroken, betrayed, abandoned, or have to share that love with others. We can't stand it and believe that it is not normal. Something is either wrong with the person we love, or something is wrong with us!

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The Most Damaging Secrets You Keep From Your Partner

By |2016-12-13T05:19:13+00:00May 22nd, 2015|Anxiety therapy, Communication Issues, Communication Problems, Intimacy, relationship issues|

Is it an affair? NO Is it something shady from your past? NO Is it your past identity? NO Is it something about your parental or cultural heritage? N0 So what are these worms that eat away at your relationship, called secrets?

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How to Juggle a Demading Career and Marriage

By |2016-12-29T15:31:13+00:00May 12th, 2015|Anxiety therapy, Intimacy|

Do you go to work each day feeling a bit guilty that you spent a few extra minutes in bed cuddling with your partner? Perhaps you get anxious on your way home from work, knowing that you stayed late to finish a project or deal with customer service problems. It's hard for you to give equal weight to your job and your marriage when they both mean a great deal to you. You don't like the feeling of having to take time from one part of your life to give to another, and it's a conflict that you can't seem to resolve. You know in your gut that your marriage is the key foundation that sustains you and makes you feel secure. So how can you make the time you spend with your partner special and free of work and other intrusions?

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Men and Women Have Different Fears that Prevent Them From Discussing Marriage

By |2016-12-29T15:31:30+00:00May 1st, 2015|Anxiety therapy, Communication Issues, Communication Problems, Intimacy|

Gordon was attracted to his wife because she appeared independent, competent, able to handle his anxieties as well as offer comfort and security. After he married her, he discovered that she wanted to be taken care of, play and enjoy her pets - his world crashed. He felt that he had lost the object of his dreams, the security he thought he had garnered, and the tender care that he believed was on tap. The shock of finding out that the tables had been turned on him made him furious and scared. But he didn't dare talk about it to his wife Maria. It was too scary a proposition.

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