The Love Chat
As a relationship therapist, I am seeing more couples in my office with betrayals of deceit, infidelity and emotional affairs. My curiosity and compassion arises when working with these couples, helping them to move beyond the deceit and the betrayal. In the discovery process, we want to get to an understanding of how they got to this place of hurt and deceit. Here is one of a few blog posts on Betrayal and Infidelity. This one refers to “Why Partners Cheat”.
There are many myths floating around about marriage and relationships that can be detrimental and harmful to relationships. They can create unrealistic expectations and misunderstandings leaving couples down the wrong path, or worse, convince them that marriage is a hopeless cause. Good relationships can end early or fail because of these common myths. Let’s debunk them one by one.
Are you having difficult conversations that turn into more conflict and withdrawal? It could be that you are both lacking emotional intelligence.
Like many of us, I grew up in a family where there weren’t a lot of boundaries or assertiveness in requests. Rigid controlling behaviours were there instead of healthy boundaries. Here are some tips that I have learned about relationships and setting these boundaries. People have better relationships when there are healthy boundaries. And making requests, gives the other party the opportunity to meet us in our needs. Read on to better understand the difference between a request, a boundary, and an ultimatum.
In the spectrum of romantic relationships, there are four levels. The first stage is a crush . In this stage, you feel warm inside while hanging out with a man or a woman who pays attention to you, looks sweetly at you, smiles at you or who is kind to you. You find that you like each other. This is a crush and it passes away with time. It doesn`t stay strong and there is no significant bond there. Adapted from Sri Krishnaji – Co-founder of Oneness and World Centre for Enlightenment. Author of Four Sacred Secrets: For Love and Prosperity
A couple trudged into my therapy office, slumped down in their chairs and glared at one another. The tensions were high and the emotions were charged. This couple in their 40s had yet another fight on the way to their appointment. This fight was a continuation of something that started last night, but the truth was they had variations of the same argument for the last five years. “I’ve asked you to be kinder, but you speak to me with such contempt and attack me,” he complained. “But you’re doing things that upset me,” she counter-claimed. “What am I supposed to do?” They were at impasse and falling into this unhealthy dynamic over and over by making three common mistakes made by couples. What are these mistakes? Could knowing them transform your relationship?
