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Can Low Self-Esteem Ruin A Relationship?

By Mary Ellen Goggin / November 10, 2022
Self-esteem spelled out in scrabble tiles.

It’s a powerful thing, this self-esteem stuff. You really can’t succeed in life without a healthy dose of it. Likewise, you need a balanced dose of it to keep yourself in check and open to the work of self-improvement. But how does it play into relationships? Can you have too much or too little for…

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Can An Unhappy Marriage Cause Depression?

By Mary Ellen Goggin / November 2, 2022
Depressed woman huddled in a chair, contemplating her unhappy marriage.

Sometimes there’s a fine line between unhappiness and depression. And sometimes casual semantics can blur the distinction between the two. When a marriage is unhappy, depression may be lurking, either right in its midst or as a consequence. But we want to know if there’s a causal relationship. That is, Can an unhappy marriage cause…

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5 Reasons Surviving Your Wife’s Infidelity Is So Difficult

By Mary Ellen Goggin / October 17, 2022
Silhouette of man holding his forehead as he contemplates his wife's infidelity.

Infidelity may be an equal-gender transgression. But men and women don’t necessarily handle infidelity by their spouses in equal ways. If you’re a man who has been betrayed, we’re going to discuss why surviving infidelity by your wife is so difficult. Statistics for cheating vary, depending on factors like size of the study pool and…

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How To Be Your Best Self In A Relationship

By Mary Ellen Goggin / October 3, 2022
Couple playfully embracing and laughing.

You’re a go-getter. Everyone in your world knows that about you. You aced school, championed every sport, snagged the best job from a banquet of delicious offers. You look your best, act your best, even work to perfect your best. But there’s that other part of your life that involves your heart and another person.…

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How To Learn How To Communicate With Your Spouse

By Mary Ellen Goggin / September 20, 2022
Little girl whispering to a little boy.

You would think that love would be sufficient for good communication. I love you, you love me, we’ll always be able to talk about anything. But what a myth! Learning how to communicate with your spouse is first an education in yourself. Master that, and you can move on to the real communication of your…

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What To Do When One Partner Is Unhappy With The Marriage

By Mary Ellen Goggin / September 10, 2022
Eggs in a carton where one has a worried expression and the other's is upset.

Isn’t it bliss when both of you are on the same page of your romance novel, coursing arm-in-arm toward happily ever after? Everything is copacetic, and even the bumps along the way read more like Singing-in-the-Rain skips. “No biggie, we’ve got this.” But – big sigh – you know life and marriage are rarely so…

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6 Strategies For Surviving Emotional Infidelity

By Mary Ellen Goggin / August 31, 2022
Love note and a fountain pen.

Things aren’t always what they appear to be. And not everything has a textbook definition or obvious, arrow-pointing signs. Affairs, for example, aren’t necessarily driven by steamy sex and clandestine meetings. They can be masked by a slow-growing emotional connection that perhaps no one saw coming. Uncovering and surviving emotional infidelity, therefore, can be tricky.…

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Does Counseling Help Unhappy Marriages

By Mary Ellen Goggin / August 10, 2022
Married couple holding hands at a distance and facing opposite directions.

If you are asking the question, “Does counseling help unhappy marriages?” chances are your marriage has been unhappy for a while. Couples wait an average of six years before deciding to pursue marriage counseling. This is a LONG time to wait – to keep having the same disagreements, to become more and more disconnected…and to…

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