Marriage

How To Get Your Spouse To Communicate With You

By Mary Ellen Goggin / March 18, 2019

You talk about work. You talk about the kids. You talk about rush-hour traffic. But you don’t know how to get your spouse to communicate with you about things that make you a couple. You live in the same home, sleep in the same bed, share the same anniversary. And yet, your communication has lost…

6 Tips For Surviving Infidelity As The Cheater & Making Your Marriage Work

By Mary Ellen Goggin / March 13, 2019

If you have had an affair, you may still be in a conundrum of guilt, shame, and indecisiveness. Surviving infidelity as the cheater rarely elicits empathy or help from his/her circle of influence. That outreach is usually reserved for the betrayed. It’s difficult to get an accurate count of just how many people cheat on…

What Constitutes An Unhappy Marriage

By Mary Ellen Goggin / March 11, 2019

Yes, it’s possible to feel unhappy in your marriage without even knowing what constitutes an unhappy marriage. Unless you’re living in extreme misery, living in an unhappy marriage can be like slowly putting on weight, one Twinkie at a time. Before you know it, you’re taking an inspecting look in the mirror, dusting off your…

What You Need To Do Before You Attend A Marriage Healing Retreat

By Mary Ellen Goggin / March 10, 2019

The idea of swapping some of your vacation time and money for a marriage healing retreat may be new to you. You may not even remember where the idea came from, but here it is. And now you and your spouse are blocking off time on your calendars and wondering what this blind date of…

How To Decide If It’s Better To Stay In An Unhappy Marriage Or Divorce

By Mary Ellen Goggin / February 27, 2019

It starts off so beautifully and utterly limitless in hope and possibility. Then, one day you’re asking, “Do we stay in an unhappy marriage or divorce?” How did you get to this point? Do you know for sure if you are really unhappy or just in a slump that every marriage experiences? How do you…

How To Communicate With Your Spouse Better Even When You’re Angry With Them

By Mary Ellen Goggin / February 18, 2019

Keeping your cool when your other half is pushing your buttons may be aggravating. But it’s key to learning to communicate with your spouse better. Be honest. There’s nothing like a heated adrenaline rush to make you feel liberated and justified when you’re angry. All those pent-up aggravations you’ve been stuffing behind a smile? All…

Criticism in Marriage Relationships. Stop It Before It Kills Your Marriage.

By Mary Ellen Goggin / February 12, 2019

Everyone hates to be criticized. Yet, for some reason, couples often feel licensed to belittle, berate, badger, and blame each other in ways they’d never do with friends. Criticism in marriage relationships is so common it makes the adage “intimacy breeds contempt” unshakeably rock solid. Why do couples default to critical behavior despite knowing deep…

Criticism in Marriage Relationships. Stop It Before It Kills Yours.

By Mary Ellen Goggin / February 12, 2019

Everyone hates to be criticized. Yet, for some reason, couples often feel licensed to belittle, berate, badger, and blame each other in ways they’d never do with friends. Criticism in marriage relationships is so common it makes the adage “intimacy breeds contempt” unshakeably rock solid. Why do couples default to critical behavior despite knowing deep…