Intensive Marriage Therapy
On one hand we sing it is “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” yet many people really struggle with feeling down during the winter months. Winter Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a depression that manifests during the late fall, early winter when the days become shorter, the weather is colder, and the sky is grayer. Often the symptoms will subside with the sunnier spring and summer months.Continue Reading
If you are married to, dating, friends with, or a parent of a doctor, it can be difficult to find gifts that they will not only appreciate, but also find useful. Like me, you have probably Googled “Best Gifts for Doctors” hoping to come up with some helpful ideas, but the only results display mugs, t-shirts, and bobble heads – none of which was what you were actually going for. I don’t know about you, but I always appreciate a good recommendation. It saves me time and helps me give something that will be enjoyed. I have put together a list of doctor gifts that have been well-loved in our home as well as with other physician friends and clients. None of the products are sponsored – meaning the companies did not approach me to promote them. Some of the items do have Amazon affiliate links. It’s the holidays and many companies are offering specials, so I always encourage you to shop around for the best deals.
As Thanksgiving approaches, we will inevitably hear much about the importance of gratitude. Our Facebook feeds will be filled with gratitude posts, Sunday school lessons throughout the month will focus on this topic, and as parents, we will try to help our children understand this principle before they begin asking for Christmas gifts.
Yet as we talk about gratitude, I often feel as though our discussions are incomplete, and I am mindful of those who are struggling to feel grateful when their lives are full of many hardships.
As I have grown in my understanding and application of gratitude, I have realized that gratitude really exists on three levels.
Let’s call the first level The Magic Words Level.
Everyday rituals and family traditions such as walking the dog together when you both get home from work, Saturday morning chores, and bedtime routines are all opportunities to build and strengthen family relationships. Time set aside for these daily family traditions and rituals provides a sense of continuity and predictability – without which, families often experience a sense of chaos. You are probably already doing a lot of these and not considering them as traditions and rituals. For example, allowing kids to help you bake, gathering together to bathe the dog, or game night every Sunday after dinner may seem inconsequential, but actually, have a strong impact on your family. Continue Reading
Marriage experts used to assume that couples fought mostly over what I call “content issues“–the things a couple discusses during a fight, such as money, in-laws, sex, and parenting styles. They believed that if they addressed each individual content issue, they could help the couple improve their relationship. But addressing the content of the fights often didn’t do much to heal the relationships. New issues would crop up, and the fighting and struggle to understand each other would continue.
Now we understand that most (if not all) of the reasons why couples fight are emotional disconnections that manifest as content issues. Not sure what that means? Take a quick minute and watch this short movie clip from The Break Up. You’ll see the two main characters fighting pretty intensely–over lemons. But is that really what they’re fighting about? See if you can relate! Continue Reading
Finding out that your spouse has a porn addiction is often devastating and overwhelming. In recent studies of wives whose husbands are addicted to porn, researchers have found that woman describe their experience in the same way women describe finding out about an affair. The deceit, betrayal, secrecy, shame, and feelings of inadequacy are the same. Because of the stigma associated with pornography, the addicts, and their spouses, often suffer in silence and feel utterly hopeless and alone. One woman has courageously shared her story of struggle as she and her husband have spent years fighting his addiction. She explained to me that she wished there was someone to have told her these things when she was going through it, and she wants to offer that support and encouragement to others.
Pornography addiction is than you might think. I am certain that there are several couples that you associate with on a regular basis that struggle with pornography addiction in their relationship – you just don’t know it. PLEASE share this article. When you share this on Facebook and Twitter or pin it on Pinterest, you don’t know who you might reach. This woman’s tender message may be the sliver of hope that someone desperately needs to hear right now.
I also want to add that therapy can help! Over half of the clients I work with struggle with some form of sexual addiction. The intensive marriage therapy retreat is a powerful way to begin addressing these hurts and putting your marriage back together.
