Hi! I'm a healthy relationship. I might not look exactly like what you had in mind. In fact, I might even look quite different when I'm with different couples, depending on those individuals' personalities and preferences. And I can even change and evolve over time with the same two people! But there are some important traits and characteristics that you'll definitely notice about me. A Healthy …Read More
Feeling connected with your spouse or partner isn't just important—it's kind of the whole point. To wit, decades of research confirm that being in a committed, long-term relationship or marriage is good for your physical and mental health, and that strong social connections benefit your quality of life and length of life. It follows, then, that feeling disconnected from your partner, for…Read More
Intimacy—that feeling of closeness, connectedness, and togetherness shared between people—is one of the most important and rewarding components of a healthy romantic relationship. When I work with couples who want to improve their marital satisfaction, I always end up referring to both types of intimacy that you hear about: physical (or sexual) intimacy and emotional intimacy. What this mea…Read More
Social media is definitely a double-edged sword. On the one hand, social media helps us connect to loved ones, expand our social and professional networks, share information, and discover new products, brands, and ideas that we may never have found otherwise. On the other hand, social media has been linked to destructive feelings like loneliness, narcissism, and low self-esteem. For the romanti…Read More
I don't know about you, but I actually really like New Years resolutions. Yes, they get a bad rap. We see headline after headline about the dismal follow-through that people seem to have around these New Year, New Me commitments—for instance, that fewer than 8% of people actually stick to their goals (apparently) or that most people end up giving up on their aims before the end of January—a…Read More
Do things feel heavy to you right now? They do for me, too. When so many difficult issues are going on in the world—including the environment, Afghanistan, politics, COVID-1, and the mental health crisis—it can sometimes feel like you're shouldering these burdens on your own. And even with a supportive spouse, it can be tricky figuring out how to create healthy conversations about these tou…Read More
A "sexless marriage" can mean different things to different couples. But what all sexless marriages have in common is a lack of physical intimacy that leaves one or both partners feeling alienated, unsatisfied, and disconnected. The feeling of disconnect is key. After all, a lack of sex is not necessarily a problem if both partners aren't bothered by it. But when lack of sexual intimacy be…Read More
Here's a simple truth: All healthy relationships have healthy boundaries. You see, boundaries aren't restricting or limiting. Boundaries provide the freedom to express your needs and values while also honoring the needs and values of your partner. Setting boundaries is: The essential antidote to codependency A prerequisite for emotional well-being A learnable skill that determines the succe…Read More
Imagine this scenario: You notice your partner seems anxious about something. You're not sure what's going on, but all day they've been acting agitated and on edge. How do you respond? Is there a part of you that begins to worry or perceive their mood as a rejection of you? What do you say to your partner about your concerns—if anything? Do you reach out, even if you're not sure how? Part…Read More
Many people are confused by the word "codependency." When they hear it, they think it simply means that a person is "clingy" and needy. But in fact, codependency is considered a specific and harmful mental and behavioral condition. It frequently has a generational pattern within families and is often referred to as "relationship addiction." Changing the dynamics of a codependent relationship ca…Read More