relationship problems

5 Excuses to Stop Making About Sex

Our sexuality is an important part of our identity. Feeling acknowledged as a sexual person contributes significantly to our sense of well-being. Although actual sex makes up a small amount of our time in a relationship, if the sexual contact between partners is absent or unsatisfying, it has a major impact on how we feel… Read more »

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One Surprising Reason We Sabotage Love

In a previous blog, I talked about how studies are now showing that it is possible for people to stay in love long-term. Yet, it’s been said that over 85 percent of couples will call it quits. According to data collected by WotWentWrong, an app that tracks why people break up, the most common reason… Read more »

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5 Simple Steps to End Any Fight

Fighting with a partner is one of those unpleasant parts of a relationship that we wish wouldn’t happen. But what if it was also life-threatening? A Brigham Young University study, tracing couples over two decades, found that more arguments correlated with poorer health and concluded that couples who don’t argue live longer. While a happy relationship… Read more »

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5 Things to Try Before You Give Up on Your Relationship

It’s a pretty common consensus that love takes work. Yet, 80 percent of Americans under 30 believe in a soulmate, the idea that there is one perfect person out there just waiting to be found. Even the expression “falling in love” makes it sound like love is out of our hands — that it just happens… Read more »

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7 Reasons Most People are Afraid of Love

What keeps us from finding and keeping the love we say we want? Around this time last year, Virgin Mobile USA proclaimed Feb. 13 to be “National Breakup Day.” They did so after conducting a survey in which 59 percent of people said that if they were looking to end their relationship, they would hypothetically do so… Read more »

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Why Do So Many People Respond Negatively to Being Loved?

Love — kindness, affection, sensitive attunement, respect, companionship — is not only difficult to find, but is even more challenging for many people to accept and tolerate.  In my work with individuals and couples, I have observed countless examples of people reacting angrily when loving responses were directed toward them. One man felt a flash… Read more »

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Toxic Relationships

Most people question, at one point or another, am I in a healthy relationship? Is my partner right for me? Is our fighting normal? Are we really happy together? The answer is unique to the relationship, but one thing is almost always universally true: every couple goes through tough times. Even the best of matches… Read more »

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Are You in an Unhealthy Relationship?

Every couple goes through rough patches. Yet, when these patches stretch out into long-term struggles, how can we tell if the relationship is worth salvaging? Is it our own shortcomings and defenses that have caused us to fall out of love, or are we actually in an unhealthy relationship? Here are some signs to look… Read more »

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Relationship Skills

In her article “After the Honeymoon,” psychologist Donna Rockwell opens with the straightforward words, “Listen up. Marriage is hard work.”  She then goes on to explore and explain just why this is and what couples can do about it. Yet, this simple directive alone – to “listen up” – is a good starting place for… Read more »

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Stop the Blame Game to Improve Your Relationship

When it comes to placing blame in a relationship, it’s almost always easier to see the faults in our partner than in ourselves. One of the problems with couples pointing fingers is that usually both parties are right, and both are wrong. Every person is full of flaws and certain ways that we attempt to… Read more »

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