Take The Gottman Relationship Quiz If you’re in a romantic relationship, do you think you know your partner pretty well? How about really well? Be honest now. Partners go through ups and downs and it takes some effort (hopefully, enjoyable effort) to keep in touch...
Rekindling The Romance
Our recent trio of blog posts have dealt with romantic love from a variety of perspectives. One interesting insight is that it appears to be part of our evolutionary development (see Love: An Essential Part Of Our Being). A basic but crucial question applies to the...
First Comes Passion, Then Comes…
If we could only bottle the feelings associated with the early stages of a romantic relationship. My goodness, talk about a best-selling product. The reality is that excitement, as we noted recently (see Love? Or Infatuation?), is “associated with the hormones...
Love? Or Infatuation?
In a memorable scene from Disney’s 1942 film, Bambi, Friend Owl explains to the young deer what being “twitterpated” is all about: a feeling young lovers have that leaves them weak in the knees and in danger of losing their heads. As anyone who has been infatuated...
Love: An Essential Part Of Our Being
For centuries poets have written beautifully about both the ecstasy of love and the pain of love lost. “I love thee to the depth and breath and height my soul can reach,” writes Elizabeth Barrett Browning. On the flip side, Pablo Neruda laments, “Love is so short,...
How Questions Can Help Maintain A Healthy Relationship
If there’s one thing that most people seem to have in common these days, it’s a sense that life is just incredibly busy. We’re busy with work, kids, daily chores and errands. If you’ll also note, one thing not mentioned in this list is our spouse or partner. Sometimes...
Don’t Discount The Little Things
Anyone who has dated for a while knows there’s a bit of an art to getting to know someone. Dating begins with small talk and there’s an unwritten rule about the kind of questions that are appropriate early in a relationship. “How many kids would you like to have” will...
What ADHD Looks Like In Adulthood
Medical disorders come in all sizes and shapes. People unfamiliar with a particular disorder may only be vaguely aware of causes, symptoms and treatments. Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), for example, receives a fair amount of attention in the news....
No Shortcuts To Deep Relationships
When it comes to developing a deep and stable long-term relationship, there is valuable wisdom in the age-old saying patience is a virtue. That’s because creating a healthy relationship is a process that defies shortcuts. Partners in a romantic relationship need to...
Why Rituals Are More Than Routines
By the time we reach adulthood we've probably developed habits or routines that we’re very comfortable with. Having a morning cup (or two) of coffee. Hitting the gym by 7:00 am (or 6:00 for the truly ambitious). Watching Sunday night football with a certain group of...