In marriage, couples often take on the emotions of others, in addition to themselves. When one spouse bears the burden of all of the emotional labour in the marriage, they can start to feel exhausted, or even burned out. There are many ways to manage the division of emotional labour in your marriage so that one spouse is not left to bear the weight of it on their own. By communicating with and supporting one another, spouses can learn to share the emotional labour so that their spouse...

Our attachment style defines how we relate to others. It affects how we relate to others, how we feel about ourselves, and how well we are able to be in touch with our own emotions. Couples with a secure attachment style feel safe in their relationship. They know that they can share their joys and sorrows with each other without fearing a negative response such as rejection. If your spouse has an anxious or avoidant attachment style, they may struggle to communicate and connect with...

If you find yourself struggling with wanting to be close to your spouse, but also pushing them away, you may have a disorganized attachment style. You may find that you feel conflicted between a strong desire to be close to your spouse and a fear of becoming reliant on them The way you learned to relate to your parents is typically the way you relate to your spouse, but you can learn to relate to your spouse in a healthy way. This attachment style can be confusing for your spouse, and it...

Does your spouse tell you that the way you interact with them creates emotional distance? Do you find yourself putting up boundaries or avoiding having difficult conversations with your spouse? It may be that you have an avoidant attachment style. A person with an avoidant attachment style can face some real challenges in their marriage because it’s difficult for them to connect emotionally to their spouse. The good news is, change is possible. If you or your spouse have an avoidant...

How do you know if you have an anxious attachment? Do you find yourself frequently drawing attention to the bond between you and your spouse, constantly trying to repair connection between you, always seeking security in your relationship, or looking for ways to defend the relationship from abandonment? If so, you may have an anxious attachment. Attachment begins with how your parents relate to you, but later on it defines how you relate to your spouse. Learn more about how to move from an...

In marriage, prayer is an important tool beyond its spiritual implications. In our physical reality, prayer has a clear and measurable effect as well. By helping us deal with stress better, see each other in a more positive light, and help us grow deeper in our relationship, prayer is an important component to a healthy marriage.

Sometimes we forget that pastors are just as human as the rest of us. And it can be devastating to hear about a pastor who has been unfaithful. But it doesn’t have to be that way. When we examine what makes them fall, we can see how to help them create a healthy environment for both their marriage and ministry to thrive.

Where is the line between a healthy love of sex and sex addiction? It boils down to the reasons for the behavior and their impact on the people closest to you. The deep roots of this very real addiction can lead to the pain and suffering you, your spouse, and the people around you. Learn how to know when the issue might be serious enough to seek out help.

The myth of the fairy tale ending tells us that after marriage, we will live happily ever after. While we can find happiness in marriage, we will have problems as well. Marriage counseling means recognizing that sometimes those problems are more than we can handle ourselves. Sometimes it takes an object and caring professional to help us sort through the complexities of being a couple.

Because you are hurt, lack something, or desire something, you might turn to porn as a coping mechanism, hoping that it will provide the feeling or fulfillment you seek. At the end of the day, porn is a maladaptive coping mechanism. Rather than helping with the problems it is supposed to solve, it simply makes them worse, particularly in the case of an addictive cycle.

Most people have heard about boundaries and use them to try to create distance and cut off connection. However, boundaries are best used to create connection instead of ending it. By learning how to set boundaries in your marriage, you will be able to share with your spouse what matters to you and help them create a mutually healthy space for your marriage to thrive.

Four factors of communication are such clear indicators that a marriage is headed for failure that they’ve been named after the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Couples that fail to deal with them can be predicted to separate with 90% accuracy. But there is still hope. By learning to identify and address these issues in your marriage, you will build a stronger and closer relationship with your spouse.

Feelings can seem so difficult to understand. And why should you? After all, they aren’t the rational part of the brain, right? There are so many misconceptions about emotions, so you might have given up long ago on identifying them. But as we’ll discover, learning to grasp your emotional state is the key to all of your relationships, even with yourself

Marriages can be strange. You slog through the daily grind, but at least you’ve got your partner. You think that everything’s fine, but then one day you wake up and realize that you don’t feel close to your spouse anymore. This is a common event in any marriage. Sometimes it’s because of normal life transitions. Sometimes it’s something drastic, like the death of a parent, or a traumatic accident. Or maybe the excitement you once felt has just gradually disappeared until you’re...

It’s not enough to simply help your spouse calm down after you have hurt them. You need to find a way to change so that you don’t repeat your betrayal. If you can embrace your failure and focus on changing for the better, you will be able to recover your marriage.

As you continue to help your spouse deal with the trauma of your betrayal, it can be exhausting and frustrating. But you are the one who hurt your spouse; you need to be there every step of the way. To do this, there are several key changes in mindset you must adopt that will help bring you and your spouse to a place of healing and restoration.

Okay, so you said you were sorry. But getting over an affair can be difficult. You said you’re going to change, so why can’t your spouse just move on? When you hurt your spouse deeply, they will have lasting trauma that you will need to deal with. If you really love them, if you want them to heal, you need to be prepared to face some difficult realities head-on.

Ever wondered why your wife spends so much time putting on makeup? Or why she worries so much about what others think of her? Beyond toxic political debate, research shows that men do have advantages their wives do not. Acknowledging them is the first step to using them to bring equity to your relationship.

How could they do this? After everything you’ve been through together, after everything you’ve promised each other, they just set that aside and betrayed you, the one they claimed to love the most. At this point, forgiveness might seem like the impossible. But not only is it possible, but it is also necessary to breathe life into your marriage and to reclaim what you lost.

How could they do this? After everything you’ve been through together, after everything you’ve promised each other, they just set that aside and betrayed you, the one they claimed to love the most. At this point, forgiveness might seem like the impossible. But not only is it possible, but it is also necessary to breathe life into your marriage and to reclaim what you lost.

A problem has popped up in your marriage, but your spouse doesn’t seem to care. It’s easy to take it personally, but there’s more going on than meets the eye. Actually, because they care so deeply, something inside of them makes it harder to deal with the situation. Let’s take a look and discover how to help you and your spouse find calm and perspective when you start to be overwhelmed by conflict.

A problem has popped up in your marriage, but your spouse doesn’t seem to care. It’s easy to take it personally, but there’s more going on than meets the eye. Actually, because they care so deeply, something inside of them makes it harder to deal with the situation. Let’s take a look and discover how to help you and your spouse find calm and perspective when you start to be overwhelmed by conflict.

In an ideal world, you would fully understand your spouse. In reality, you must learn how to show empathy and give them the validation they need. By cultivating empathy, you will be able to find more stability and intimacy in your marriage. You and your spouse will learn to share the fulfillment of being known and understood by one another.

In an ideal world, you would fully understand your spouse. In reality, you must learn how to show empathy and give them the validation they need. By cultivating empathy, you will be able to find more stability and intimacy in your marriage. You and your spouse will learn to share the fulfillment of being known and understood by one another.

It’s not enough to know that your spouse is complex. It’s time to start exploring, and for that, you will need the power of curiosity. Curiosity is able to transform every situation into an opportunity to better understand one another. As you take further steps to learn, your relationship will grow and strengthen as a result.