Articles
Obstacles to Intimacy in Marriage: Reconnecting with Your Spouse
One of the keys to success in marriage is maintaining intimacy. Intimacy is about connection, being and feeling understood by the other person. When two people understand each other, and couple it with mutual appreciation and compassion, it makes for a rich and dynamic relationship. The difficulty with intimacy is that it can be hard to maintain, as many obstacles interfere with maintaining intimacy. Before exploring the obstacles that undermine intimacy in marriage, it’s helpful to firstly understand the facets of intimacy. They present themselves differently in each relationship, but keeping an eye on deepening intimacy in these areas will help [...]
Relationship Conflicts: When Not to Apologize
We are often conditioned at an early age to apologize quickly, sometimes even unnecessarily, such as when we accidentally bump into someone at the grocery store. While apologizing can be a polite gesture, are we always sincere? Insincere apologies can be counterproductive and can create even greater relationship conflict. They are often transparent and can undermine trust in the relationship and fail to address the underlying issues. The Bible emphasizes the importance of sincere apologies and genuine repentance. Proverbs 28:13 states, “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” When we wrong [...]
12 Key Benefits of Couples Counseling
When two people develop an intimate bond and relationship with each other, the road before them isn’t always paved smoothly. There are challenges in any relationship, and even when the couple love each other deeply, without skills to help them navigate those difficulties, they may not thrive. Whether or not you and your partner are going through a difficult season, couples counseling can help to strengthen your relationship. Couples counseling explained A simple way to understand the nature of couples counseling is to think of it as a specific type of therapy that addresses romantic relationships and their dynamics. Romantic relationships [...]
Recognizing OCD Symptoms
Most people recognize the classic Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms such as over-cleaning, extreme handwashing, and perfectly organized cabinets. However, there are lesser-known OCD symptoms that require attention because OCD, if left untreated, can hurt all areas of a person’s life. What is OCD? Most people have heard of OCD. Sometimes it is described in jest when someone is organized beyond the norm or insists on a sterile environment. However, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a serious mental health condition that can derail a person’s life. The symptoms of which need to be addressed promptly and by a professional. But what causes OCD behavior? [...]
The Negative Effects of a Passive-Aggressive Communication Style
Have you ever been in a situation where you are talking with someone, and while their words were saying one thing, everything else was sending a different message? Their words may seem friendly, but you cannot seem to shake the feeling that they are setting traps for you. There seems to be hidden layers of meaning behind their words. There are several different communication styles through which people express themselves. These styles include aggressive, passive, assertive, and passive-aggressive. Each of these communication styles has its respective strengths and weaknesses. This article will address the negative effects of a passive-aggressive communication style. [...]
Building Healthy Relationships Despite a Fear of Abandonment
Our past can have a profound impact on our present and future well-being. If you were hurt in a past relationship, it’s possible to carry that pain with you into your other relationships. The new relationship can end up bearing the burden of the past relationship – for instance through trust issues and having difficulty opening up due to a past betrayal – leading to fear of abandonment. It’s possible, however, to overcome these wounds and build healthy relationships. A fear of abandonment is one of the wounds that a person can carry from their past experiences. That fear can affect [...]
Toxic Shame: Causes, Attributes, and Overcoming
Toxic shame is living with feelings of being unworthy. It is a form of self-loathing that keeps you from beingconfident in yourself. Toxic shame is usually a result of how others have treated you and you now believe this about yourself. When a person struggles with toxic shame, they find it hard to differentiate between who they are as a true person and the self they are to survive. Some call these the real self and the ideal self. Suffering from toxic shame will cause the ideal self to overshadow the real self and make you believe that you are unworthy. [...]
Feeling Lonely In Marriage? What to Do About It
It may sound paradoxical to some when a married person admits to feeling lonely in marriage. However, numerous surveys reveal that loneliness within marriages is common. It can be hurtful and confusing to be someone who experiences loneliness in their marriage. This is because, in an ideal marriage, we can reach out to our partner to provide friendship and companionship and to be our shoulder to cry on. The fact that loneliness can happen in a marriage proves two things: first, loneliness is not necessarily limited to or defined by the physical state of being alone; and second, marriage is not [...]
In Your Feelings: A Guide To Understanding Emotions
Robots, commandeered by computers and codes, used to be central to science fiction films, hinting at the mystery of an unknown future. Nowadays, those same elements of technology are a regular part of our lives and worlds. Machines mimic many of our daily seen and unseen tasks and processes. The difference between humanity and our tech toys is that we were made in the image of a perfect God and loving Father. However, because of our sin, we are not perfect ourselves. Advancements abound all around us, but a robot does not experience the complexity of emotions as does the human [...]