Finding Love After a Divorce or Breakup

November 9, 2012 By Meredith Hansen

Being newly single can definitely feel overwhelming at times. At any given point you may feel a mix of emotions from excitement and hope to fear, worry, regret, and so on. Entering the dating pool after a divorce or breakup is not always easy, but for those of you looking to find love again, there are some ways to ease into the process and reduce anxiety, fear of rejection, and disappointment.

Take the Time to Emotionally Heal – First you have to spend time emotionally healing from the divorce or breakup, and adjust to being single. Before you know it, well-intentioned friends and family will be asking you about your dating life, but don’t

Read More

Filed Under: A Healthy You, Dating, Weekly Love Tip Tagged With: , , , ,

Don’t Forget About YOU!

September 28, 2012 By Meredith Hansen

Regardless of your relationship status, it is always important for you to focus on yourself, to continue to grow as an individual, and to foster your personal relationships. Find out why below.

FIND LOVE TIP:

If you’re in the process of looking for love, it is essential that you continue to nurture your social life. Meeting new people, trying new activities, and tending to your social network is a great way to jump-start this process. Not only will being socially active broaden your pool of people to choose from, but it will

Read More

Filed Under: A Healthy You, Finding Love, Marriage Success Secrets, Strong Marriage, Weekly Love Tip Tagged With: , , ,

Super Mom

April 6, 2012 By Meredith Hansen

It isn’t easy having it all and/or doing it all, but many modern women think they can and should.

Unfortunately, over the past few decades our society has regularly depicted an unrealistic image of a ‘supermom’ that tends to leave most women feeling inferior or not good enough.  This picture usually highlights a chic woman easily balancing her children, husband, and work all while looking fabulous.

In today’s demanding world, it’s easy to accept these standards and believe that you must measure up.  Women often set high expectations for themselves and when they don’t meet their own expectations their self-image and self-esteem often suffer.  In order to avoid the negative effects

Read More

Filed Under: A Healthy You, Strong Marriage, Weekly Love Tip Tagged With: , ,

Spring Clean Your Life

March 23, 2012 By Meredith Hansen

Spring is often that time of year when we clean our house from top to bottom. We sort through old clothes and other household items, clean out the backs of closets and dark corners that are typically avoided, remove dirt, dust, and other build up, and give our homes an overall cleanse. By the time we’re finished (with this commonly dreaded experience), we feel lighter, happier, cleaner, and relieved.

So wouldn’t it be great it we did this in our personal lives as well?

As humans, we all have a tendency to hold on to past hurts, emotional pain, unhealthy relationships, and destructive patterns. The familiar in our daily lives can easily become comfortable and rather than make a change for the better, we often stick with what we know, even it if is hurting us.

Read More

Filed Under: A Healthy You, Weekly Love Tip Tagged With:

Are You in an Unhealthy Relationship?

January 20, 2012 By Meredith Hansen

Do you ever wonder if you’re in an unhealthy relationship?

This is a common concern that I address with many clients in my private practice.  Often successful, vibrant, interesting men and women report feeling unhappy in their relationship and worried that things have taken a turn for the worse.  They share that they don’t feel like themselves anymore, doubt their ability to make decisions, and report an ongoing feeling of anxiety (like walking on eggshells).

Unfortunately too many people in this situation ignore their feelings or are unaware of what these feelings mean.  Bright, competent individuals get caught up in the dynamics of their relationship and fail to see the toxic cycle they’re stuck in.  Hoping things will get better they cling to their partner, make excuses for bad behavior, and blame themselves for an argument gone bad.  Over time denial of personal needs and ongoing doubt leads to low self-confidence, poor judgment, over dependency on the

Read More

Filed Under: A Healthy You, Weekly Love Tip Tagged With: , , ,

Your Halloween Spirit

October 31, 2011 By Meredith Hansen

Since today is Halloween, a day all about fantasy and imagination, I want to remind you of something: You are a healthy adult filled with wonderful fantasies, playfulness, and a great imagination.

Too often I see adults neglect their creative, imaginative side.  They get caught up in their day to day tasks and leave little room for play in their lives. So, on this Halloween I want to encourage you to get out there and play, fantasize, imagine,

Read More

Filed Under: A Healthy You, Strong Marriage, Weekly Love Tip Tagged With: , , ,

Everyday Love: A Simple Solution

September 2, 2011 By Meredith Hansen

Keeping your relationship strong day in and day out can be a little overwhelming.  You know that you love your partner and you trust that they love you, but daily stress, personal frustrations, and bumper to bumper traffic can make any loving, good natured spouse turn into a distant stranger by the end of the day.

In order to keep you love strong and passionate, you have to focus on it every single day.  You must wake up and think about reaching out to your honey, decide to kiss them before you leave in the morning, make a conscious effort to connect sometime during the day, and get in the habit of leaving your frustrations and anger at the door (at least when you first walk in).

Now I know that this can be difficult, it isn’t easy to

Read More

Filed Under: A Healthy You, Marriage Success Secrets, Strong Marriage, Weekly Love Tip Tagged With: , , ,

Why Making a Change Can Be So Difficult

August 26, 2011 By Meredith Hansen

When we decide we want to make a change in our lives a lot of things can happen.  We can receive support, pushback, unsolicited opinions and so on.  Everybody seems to weigh in on whether they think our desired changes are good, bad, or necessary.

Although making healthy changes is important, it’s essential to realize that our adjustments will affect the equilibrium in our relationships.  The current dynamics of how and when we interact with others can shift as we find a new way to exist in the world.  New boundaries are often established in the process, changes in our behaviors can occur, and the people who typically related to the old version of us can feel left behind, threatened, or confused.

In order to minimize the pushback you may receive as you establish a new, healthier version of you, it’s important to

Read More

Filed Under: A Healthy You, Communication, Weekly Love Tip

Independence Day and Your Marriage

July 1, 2011 By Meredith Hansen

With the 4th of July approaching, I thought this would be the perfect time to remind you that YOU MATTER.

I know that I often remind you to GROW TOGETHER in your marriage and that I commonly discuss the importance of a creating a SHARED IDENTITY as a couple, but this week I want to remind you to that it is also important to focus

Read More

Filed Under: A Healthy You, Marriage Success Secrets, Strong Marriage, Weekly Love Tip Tagged With: , , , ,

Your Friends and Your Marriage

June 17, 2011 By Meredith Hansen


Friends are a vital part of life. Remember when you were little and you had that perfect best friend you shared all your personal stories with?

Take a minute to think about who that person is now?

Maybe it’s your partner, and that is great!, but we all need multiple outlets.  We need to know that there are a good group of people in our life who stand behind us, pushing us to be better, do better, aim higher, reach our potential, and fulfill our dreams.

Watch the clip below for a quick reminder about

Read More

Filed Under: A Healthy You, Getting Married, Newlywed Tips, Strong Marriage, Weekly Love Tip Tagged With: , , , ,