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When You Just Want to Help: Navigating Helplessness in Your Relationship

December 3, 2015

Feeling helpless is not something that feels good. It feels inhuman. To be helpless is seen as weak, to forego control. When the feeling grows too large, it can inspire depression or avoidant disorders like alcoholism or other types of addiction. Until you can accept feeling helpless or find a way to gain control, you feel lost. Yet we put ourselves in situations where we are helpless all the time. We surround ourselves with loved ones who…

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What’s Mine is Yours: Handling Issues of Financial Control in Your Marriage

November 13, 2015

Joining finances with another person is a very intimate process, and many partners are unprepared for this transition following marriage. Money is one of the most frequent categories of couple conflict and also one of the most detrimental, tending to last longer and be experienced more harshly than other types of conflict. This is an unfortunate pattern given that discussions of money are inevitable in relationships, and they cannot be avoided or subverted forever. Our financial beliefs…

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Lessons in Love: Love is Dynamic

July 14, 2015

Love exists in many forms that complement a variety of relationships. Think of the love you feel for your partner versus the love you feel for a friend, relative, pet, or hobby. It is restrictive to think that there is a “right” kind of love to strive for, which may lead you farther astray from the type of feeling you desire in a relationship. For example, if you think that you must not love your partner of…

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Dating Yourself: the Benefits of Taking Time to Be Single

April 22, 2015

Being single is often looked at as a problem to be fixed. It has a negative connotation and is referred to as “being alone”. When you tell people you’re not in a relationship they automatically start listing off their single friends they could set you up with, or tell you “things will get better”. It is assumed that if you’re single, you must not be happy. And maybe you’re not. Being single can be hard- there’s no…

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Signs and Strategies for Ending Toxic Relationships

April 9, 2015

There are toxic people in all of our lives, whether we are close to them or not. “Toxic” means someone who hurts you more than they help you, and tends to subtract from your life rather than add to it. This can be friends, family members, significant others, or even bosses or coworkers.

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Apologies: When and How to Make Them

March 5, 2015

The art of a good apology is difficult to perfect, and is not a widely known or practiced craft. Apologies are very vulnerable- it requires that you humble yourself to another person. It may be embarrassing to own up to your wrongs, causing you to want to talk about it as little as possible and hope it goes away. You may feel like apologizing to someone will give the person some power over you, or make you…

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3 Questions to Ask Yourself After a Break-up

March 3, 2015

The end of a romantic relationship can be like riding a roller coaster of emotions. Depending on the circumstances, you may be feeling relieved, heart-broken, resentful, or shocked. It may seem like the road ahead is unclear for you, and it can be difficult to know how to “get past” this difficult time in your life. It is easy to focus on the negatives at this stage. Although it may feel insurmountable, you can help yourself to…

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Relationships and the Role of Technology: 5 Tips for Success

November 3, 2014

There is no denying that we live in a technology saturated world. It can be hard to imagine a day going by without responding to an email, sending a text message, or checking the latest updates on Facebook. Our intimate relationships are even tied up with technology. Some of us meet through an online dating website or live long distance and connect with our loved one via video conferencing. It is becoming increasingly important, therefore, to consider…

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20 ways to leave your lover: Getting over a breakup

October 21, 2014

A breakup is one of the top 10 life events that causes the most stress. Whichever way you break up, the fallout can be emotionally devastating and psychologically draining, leaving you feeling dazed and confused. Love might be blind but a breakup can leave you feeling blindsided, not knowing which way to turn. Getting over a split, whoever or however it was initiated, takes time- but there are ways you can lighten the breakup burden. When a…

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Stop your relationship from going stale

September 12, 2014

You know those old pair of slacks you like to slip into when you can’t be bothered to make an effort? As comfortable as they may feel, over time they become worn and tattered and you may not even realize. The same can happen with loved ones too; while the deep feeling of enduring companionship with someone you have come to know on so many levels creates a strong bond, we can become so used to our…

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