If you’ve had a recent breakup or feel like you are in a cycle of failed relationships, the prospect of dating again can be daunting. However, you are not doomed to repeat past relationship mistakes. The key is to be willing to learn from your relationship history and make the necessary adjustments to have healthy relationships in the future. Here are five tips to help get you started.
Read MoreAnxiety is a common occurrence for many people. It can cause a separation of your mind and body, leading to feelings of internal struggle and chaos.
While there are conventional options for treatment, more and more people are turning to natural alternatives to soothe their nervous systems. Here, we’ll explore six ways to manage your anxiety naturally.
Read MoreThe Gottman Method is a trusted approach for couples counseling to help overcome communication habits, conflict resolution, and connectivity struggles. This method was developed by psychologists Dr. John and Dr. Julie Gottman after over 40 years of relationship research.
Through the course of their work, the Gottmans have been able to pinpoint specific problem areas within a relationship that can lead to divorce or end a relationship. These behaviors fall under the umbrella of the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” Couples move through the seven floors of the Sound Relationship House theory to address these behaviors.
One of the big questions that couples have before beginning this method is, how long will it take? Let’s explore this further.
Read MoreGoing through a divorce is rarely easy and never fun. It’s not something anyone plans for when entering into a relationship.
You wake up to an empty bed. Your closet and dresser drawers are suddenly half full. There’s one set of shoes by the front door. Throughout the day, there are little reminders of your previous reality.
Figuring out what comes next can be the hardest part. For men, society often paints a different picture of what post-divorce life looks like. There’s the return to the bachelor lifestyle, playing the field, or enjoying a sense of “freedom.”
What may be surprising to hear, however, is that men often have a tougher time handling life on the other side of divorce. Let’s explore why that may be the case.
Read MoreWhen you think of positive attributes you want in a relationship, the top ones are probably feeling safe, loved, respected, and secure. What doesn’t always come to mind is the term validation.
Validation is very important but often misunderstood. Everyone wants to feel seen and heard. They want to be supported by their partners. The foundation for that, and the health and longevity of a relationship, is through validation. So, how can you validate your partner?
Read MoreIf you were asked to name a dating red flag, you could probably come up with a few. While subjective, most people have an understanding of what the term means.
What makes red flags so perplexing is how they can appear appealing at first. You may find yourself drawn to someone with problematic behavior, only to realize later that these are not traits you want in a partner. So, what makes red flags look so attractive at the beginning of a relationship? Let’s take a look.
Read MoreAs humans, we have a natural desire for human connection and social interaction with others. In fact, without it, we risk harming our physical, emotional, and mental health.
With that said, socializing doesn’t come naturally or without some element of struggle for everyone. Social batteries can become drained. Certain situations can be triggering. Circumstances can make different engagements feel uncomfortable and overwhelming.
Social anxiety can manifest in several different ways. You may find yourself panicking in large crowds or when you attend functions or group gatherings. You may feel jitters or perspiration when giving a presentation in front of a group. Meeting new people and making small talk in those settings can feel stressful.
As with any other anxiety type, there isn’t just one cause for social anxiety. Here, we’ll discuss some of the more common root causes impacting social anxiety.
Read MoreYour day is booked from the moment you wake up until you’re ready for bed. Your partner’s schedule looks the same. By the time you have a minute, you’re exhausted, resulting in little time together.
At a point, you may find yourself just accepting that that’s how it will be. Unfortunately, this can take a toll on your relationship. Here’s how you cancultivate healthy practices with your partner when time is limited.
Read MoreTrauma is never easy. In fact, it can be one of the more difficult things to recover from. There may be days when finding healing feels like an impossible venture. It can feel as if this trauma is ingrained in your being. The body has a unique way of remembering trauma.
Here, we will explore how and why your body remembers trauma.
Read MoreDepression is one of the most common mental health conditions experienced by people across the globe. As common as it is, there are many aspects that people still don’t fully understand.
There are plenty of people who are actively living their lives and who look perfectly normal on the outside but are secretly struggling with depression. You can be highly successful and still struggle with high-functioning depression.
Read MoreThe makeup of who a person becomes stems all the way back to childhood. Your upbringing and the people around you influence your views, beliefs, attitudes, and responses.
Every choice you make adds another layer to who you are and who you’re going to be. Even decisions made by others or situations that happen to you contribute to that formation.
When you live through a significant traumatic experience as a child, you may not assume there will be a long-term impact as you transition into adulthood. Often, traumas are associated with mental illness and disorders of the like, but what about physical illness? Here is a look at how trauma shares a link with chronic illness.
Read MoreAddiction can be a tricky subject. For many addictions, the issue itself seems pretty black and white. However, when it comes to alcohol, there is often a lot of gray.
Social drinking is a common phenomenon that many people engage in. In fact, it’s often celebrated and encouraged in movies, television shows, and social media. Alcohol addiction doesn’t form overnight and typically starts with social drinking. Here’s a deeper look at what alcohol addiction is and the four main stages.
Read MoreEMDR can be a great tool for managing your mental health and the challenges you’re facing each day. With a quick internet search, you’ll find plenty of positive reviews attesting to the benefits and effectiveness of EMDR therapy.
Many people like the EMDR approach because it isn’t particularly invasive, it doesn’t focus solely on discussing matters from the past, and results occur rather quickly compared to other methods.
For this reason, many people expect EMDR to work almost instantly and have limited side effects. If you’re considering exploring EMDR, it is important to know what to expect. Given that each person’s experience will be different, here are some commonly reported after-effects.
Read MoreGrief is a deeply personal and challenging experience that comes after the loss of a loved one. Amid the emotional waves of grief, loneliness and isolation can set in. Whether you’ve experienced the loss of a family member, friend, or beloved pet, the void left by their absence and the disconnection can feel overwhelming. This is what makes grief so hard.
However, there are resources and strategies available to help navigate the loneliness and isolation of grief, hopefully allowing you to find solace in the midst of sorrow.
Read MoreConflict and disagreement are a normal part of life. You’ll inevitably experience a disagreement with a coworker, argue with a friend, or not see eye-to-eye with your partner on an important matter. Conflict will even arise with strangers along the way.
Often, conflict has a negative connotation because when it is unhealthy, it can lead to war, the loss of friends, or even divorce. While conflict is uncomfortable, it does not need to come with losing a relationship. There is a healthy way to resolve typical disagreements and have productive outcomes. Here are 4 ways to have constructive, healthy conflict.
Read MoreHave you been through a recent heartbreak? Have you felt like you have a type, and that’s why your relationships don’t work out?
Past relationships can be very helpful in achieving success in future ones. Here are five ways to learn from past mistakes to better prepare for future relationships.
Read MoreCodependency can develop in any relationship with peers, friends, family, and partners. It can be a difficult place to be because one essentially adapts one’s personality and behavior to fix a problem, meet a need, or fill a void rather than create a fair and equal relationship.
Codependency shifts the balance of power and creates an unsustainable dynamic. Here are some indicators that your relationship could be codependent.
Read MoreADHD is something that many people believe they understand, but few on the outside fully realize what it entails. There is plenty of misinformation that gets circulated through word of mouth or on the internet about what ADHD is.
Untrue assumptions about the cause, diagnosis, or treatment can make receiving proper care difficult for those who face this challenge. Here are four common myths about ADHD and the facts of the matter.
Read MoreAnxiety can make day-to-day functions a struggle for people who suffer from it. Social activities can be difficult, reading social signs or conforming to social norms is harder, and controlling your thought processes may feel impossible.
Memory is one thing that can be affected by anxiety. Recent studies have shown that people who demonstrate anxious behaviors are also more likely to falsify memories. How does anxiety correlate with false memories?
Read MoreChildhood is an important factor in shaping your development into an adult. This is especially true where relationships are concerned.
If you’ve experienced a rough childhood where you didn’t receive proper support or you oftentimes felt unsafe due to an unhealthy relationship with your parents, it’s very likely you’ve carried some of that with you into adulthood.
Any unmet needs or unresolved issues can manifest throughout your relationships, creating negative and unwanted problems. Here’s a look at how your relationships can be affected.
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