“You always want what you can’t have.”
It’s a saying as old as time- one that most people can, in one way or another, relate to, especially when it comes to romance. Whether it shows up in the form of a crush on your boss, pining after someone who’s already married, or falling for a local while vacationing in a foreign country, there’s something about loving a person you know you can’t be with that feels more intoxicating than other, more realistic relationships.
Read MoreWhat makes a relationship healthy? Is it respect? Mutual support? Open communication? You may know what a strong relationship looks like, but knowing how to get there can be difficult. Sometimes, your temper flares up when you get frustrated by your partner, or life gets busy, and you find yourself being short and distant.
Read MoreIf you’ve ever been through a breakup, you know how painful it can be. Breakups often include intense feelings of grief, loss, loneliness, rejection, sadness, and hopelessness. When it comes to breaking up, these feelings are often an inevitable part of the healing process, but there are several things you can do to both cope with the pain and prepare yourself for greater things to come.
Read MoreRelationship researcher, John Gottman, spent four decades studying what makes relationships last. Based on 7 studies he conducted on couples who stay together vs. couples who divorce, Gottman is now able to predict with over 90% accuracy whether or not a married couple will divorce. While there are many factors that contribute to a couple’s decision to end their marriage, Gottman identifies 4 behaviors as the most common predictors of splitting up.
Read MoreTake a moment to imagine yourself having sex. How do you feel? How do you see yourself? Now, if you weren’t already, imagine having sex completely naked in a well-lit room. How do you feel now? Your answer, most likely, is a reflection of your body image- your thoughts, feelings, judgments, and beliefs about your body.
Read MoreEvery year, about 40 million people, or 18% of the US population1, report struggling with anxiety. Anxiety is a mental, emotional, and physical experience characterized by worry, tension, overthinking, insomnia, panic, and in severe cases, symptoms like rapid heart beat, trouble breathing, sweating, and feeling unreal or out of control. If you struggle with mild anxiety, such as slight overthinking about work, or severe symptoms, like full out panic attacks, tracking your symptoms and identifying your triggers may be the answer.
Read MoreAdulting can be hard for many reasons. One of the toughest challenges, which I’ve talked about with almost all of my clients at one point or another, is friendship. Busy schedules made up of parenting responsibilities, long work hours, housework, and meal prepping can often leave little time for hanging out with friends you already have, let alone making new ones.
Read MoreNo matter how much you love your family, it’s safe to assume that at one point or another, you’ve felt they were being a little too…
Intrusive
Critical
Overbearing
Opinionated
Or even just downright cruel!
Read MoreWhat would you say if a friend told you that every morning, you need to stop by their house before work, so they can look at you, assess whether or not you look fat, and tell you how you should feel about yourself for the rest of the day?
Crazy, right? Who would agree to such a thing!?
Every morning, millions of Americans do almost exactly this. They get out of bed and go directly to the bathroom scale, where a set of numbers will determine how confident, attractive, and successful they feel that day.
Read MoreNo matter how compatible two people are, the defining quality of romantic relationships is almost always attraction. Attraction is what initially draws two people together. It’s what sparks interest and creates sexual chemistry. Without it, two people who otherwise get along very well might as well be friends or roommates.
Read MoreLetting go of your partner after breaking up can feel excruciating. The grief of saying goodbye to dreams you had as a couple is often compounded by the sheer loss of the other person’s companionship. For many, the answer lies in these three words: “Let’s stay friends.”
Read MoreImagine you’re in the market for a new car. There are several things on your list of qualities the car must have: four doors, five-star safety features, adequate trunk space, and over 20 miles of miles per gallon of gas.
You’ll likely find a number of cars that meet this criteria, so what do you do? Do you test drive a few and ultimately pick one that meets your needs and falls within your budget? Or do you go above and beyond- test driving dozens, analyzing which rides the smoothest, which has a backup camera, which has satellite radio, a sunroof, the best speakers, built-in GPS navigation?
Read MoreIf you found out today that your partner cheated on you, what questions would you have? Would you want to know how many times? What about what the other person looked like? Would you want to know where their encounters took place or who was better in bed?
Read MoreIf you’ve been dating for a while and have yet to find success, you may feel like your relationships keep ending for the same reasons over and over again. Maybe you keep feeling like nobody you date is “good enough,” or that things tend to go great until the relationship becomes more serious, and you suddenly lose interest. If this is the case for you, an avoidant attachment style may be to blame.
Read MoreYou know that feeling when you step outside and realize, finally, the weather is starting to get warmer? The shift from winter into spring and summer feels hopeful in many ways. Finally, activities like hiking, biking, going on long walks, and lounging by the pool will soon be possible again. Warmer weather also means less clothing. If body image is something you struggle with, this fact alone might be enough to turn that feeling of hopefulness into one of dread.
Read MoreBetween 1967 and 2015, interracial marriage has increased by almost 600%. This statistic reflects more acceptance of interracial relationships now than in prior decades, but as evidenced by countless instances of systemic racism and police brutality, coming to a head with the murder of George Floyd in May of 2020, the issue of racism in America is far from gone.
Read MoreWhy do you get upset when your partner comes home later than they say they will? Why do you get excited when they surprise you with flowers? In every relationship, both partners have their own set of expectations. When your expectations are met or exceeded, you feel loved, appreciated, and satisfied with your relationship. When they’re not, conflict ensues, and the relationship can suffer.
Read MoreAsk most married couples why they decided to tie the knot, and you might hear one of the following answers: “because we were in love”, “we wanted to have children”, or “we were ready to settle down.” On the surface, these seem like good answers. But are they enough?
Read MoreRemember that blissful feeling at the beginning of your relationship, when you swore your partner was absolutely perfect, and there was no one in the world you’d rather spend time with? When was the last time you felt that? If you’re in a long relationship and realizing that’s been days, months, or even years since you last felt passionate about your hunny, don’t worry. You’re actually in the majority, and there’s something you can do about it.
Read MoreHow do you feel when you think about sex? Do you feel excited, confident, or eager to connect with the person you love? If so, give yourself a pat on the back. You likely enjoy sex. But what if sex brings up different feelings for you? Feelings like embarrassment, fear, disgust, or self-consciousness? You may be struggling with sexual shame. You are not alone.