Marriage and Relationship Advice

The 9 Best Relationship Resolutions You Can Make to Improve Your Marriage 1 Decide how to handle arguments (when you're not fighting). Getty Images No couple is immune to arguments, and having a system in place to handle hurt feelings now will strengthen your relationship later. Matthew Mutchler, Ph.D., LMFT, says he often sees couples who have different expectations of how to handle a disagreement. "People get wrapped up in being 'right' or 'fixing' a problem [and] they miss the point," says Mutchler. "Underlying many conflicts is a desire to be heard, understood, and validated. You can tell the quality of a relationship by how they hear and respond to one another. Your partner might just want you to say 'I understand what you're feeling' without qualifications." 2 Make more time for one another. relationships, resolution, new year Getty Images If the past year turned out to be more hectic than either of you ima...

Getting Over Someone: The Harsh Truth You Might Not Like to Hear   Yes. Although it’ll be hard no matter what, you can always work to get over someone you once cared for. If you’re struggling with your feelings for them and don’t know where to start, we’ve got you covered. #1 Talk to someone professionally. If it’s been a while and you’re still having a hard time getting over someone, go ahead and talk to a professional. It’s their job to help you. You may have some deeper feelings that are getting in the way of getting over someone and you can’t find them yourself. There’s nothing wrong with getting professional help when it comes to something as serious as this. #2 Think about why it’s so hard. And I mean really think about it. Don’t just throw away thoughts of that person because you don’t want to see them. While that may seem like the easy way to get over them, it actually might make things worse. You have to discover why it is you’re holding on to them so m...

These relationship goals are what you should have. This is what you should strive for when it comes to your significant other. Just think about what your grandparents valued in a relationship—those are the true relationship goals, and here are our top 15 favorites. #1 Having true trust. Forget about holding each other’s hands overlooking a mountainous terrain. Real relationship goals are being able to be at the top of that mountain and trusting that the person you’re with would never let you fall over the edge. Trust is the most important relationship goal that we all need, yet it is the most forgotten. [Read: How to build trust in a relationship and make it last ] #2 Being honest with each other. I’m not talking about never, ever telling a little white lie. I’m talking about being able to go to your partner and be honest about all of the big things in life. Real relationship goals include being open and honest with your partner about whatever you have to say, knowing t...

You feel pain when someone you love betrays or injures you. Certain actions or attitudes – unfaithfulness, selfishness, addiction — can wreak emotional and even physical wounds on a relationship that’s supposed to make you feel happy and safe. And when those wounds come from the person with whom you’ve joined yourself, heart and soul, in a covenant before God, the knife twists–and the pain increases. The truth is, sometimes love hurts because we’re fallen creatures living in a fallen world. This broken world often hands us unwelcome trials – a job loss, a miscarriage, a chronic illness, a child with special needs. But sometimes our own needy nature causes us to inflict pain on our spouse by succumbing to volcanic anger, abuse, or an addiction (pornography, alcohol, even television). Whether it’s done unwittingly or intentionally, we damage our marriage when we go MIA emotionally, fight, or react to conflict in passive-aggressive or narcissistic ways instead of ways t...

Marriage — that living, growing relationship between you and your spouse — can be impacted by its external environment. For instance, are you spending too much time watching TV instead of interacting with your husband or wife? Are either or you stressed by outside factors such as your career, your kids, interfering friends or family, or even your hectic schedules? Or maybe the internal dynamics of your relationship are showing symptoms that there’s a different potential problem. Whatever the case, it’s critically important you do everything you can to keep your marriage vital and strong — in other words, healthy. The following articles will help you diagnose the state of your most important earthly relationship, and give you the checkup you need to maintain or regain your marital health.