Psychologist, Relationship Expert, Couples Counseling, Individual Counseling, Premarital Counseling, Newlyed Counseling, & Marriage Counseling, in Newport Beach, CA By Dr. Meredith Hansen
‘Tis the season to begin thinking about your New Year’s Resolutions.
As important as it is to identify personal resolutions, it is also important to think about relationship resolutions. Below are a few tips to help you and your honey get on this same page in 2013.
- Set a time to sit down together or go for a long walk. Begin by acknowledging the positives aspects of your relationship.
- Next focus on areas for growth, not necessarily change. Pinpoint
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.
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
Whether you’re in a relationship or currently looking for love, listening is an essential tool that you must master in order to have a successful relationship.
It is really common for people on a date to get caught up in themselves (how they look, how they’re coming across, if the other person is interested in them, etc.) and to lose track of their date (What am I learning about them? Are we compatible?
If you live in Southern California you are probably all too familiar with term “June Gloom.”
It’s that time of year when, just as our days begin to get longer and the smell of summer begins to fill the air, the marine layer thickens and the sunny, warm days we long for are instead grey, gloomy, and overcast.
To make matters worse, somehow “June Gloom” tends to exist mostly on the weekends. During the week while we’re in the office, the sun brightly shines inviting fantasies of weekends at the beach, pool, park, etc, but then when the weekend finally arrives that marine layer seems to hold strong, preventing the
One key to a lasting, healthy relationship is to put effort into it daily. Most people believe that they need a romantic getaway or an expensive dinner to get the passion back, but the truth is small efforts make all the difference.
If you’ve been feeling a little distant from your partner lately or you want your relationship to remain healthy and satisfying, implement at least one item from the list below every day and your relationship will thrive.
All relationships ebb and flow. Sometimes couples can be completely aligned and emotionally in tune with one another, and other times a great deal of distance can exist between them.
This natural rhythm of distance and closeness is not something to worry about if you’re usually able to recognize the pattern and work through it. But if you and your spouse are not able to quickly identify the distance and find ways to reconnect, you may eventually end up feeling more like roommates or co-parents than passionate lovers.
Use the list below to determine if there may be too much distance between you and your honey.
THERE MAY BE TOO MUCH DISTANCE IN YOUR MARRIAGE IF:
Are you looking for some simple ways to add romance to your Valentine’s Day celebration?
Tonight is an opportunity to slow things down and get romantic with your partner. Below are some tips for adding romance and passion to your Valentine’s Day celebration that won’t break the bank. Pick one or two items on the list and you’re guaranteed to have a memorable night!
Romance on a Budget:
- Light candles – Candles can completely change the atmosphere. They can shift the mood in your home from bright and every day to sexy, luminous, and romantic. Buy a pack of small tea lights from the drug store or dig up any candles you have around the house and put them everywhere, make your home glow tonight!
- Music – Music is an extremely powerful tool for setting a romantic mood. Go through your iTunes library and make a playlist of all the romantic songs you and your honey enjoy. Set the playlist to repeat, so you don’t have to worry about the music ending, enjoy a slow dance or two together and allow the music to take you away!
Looking to have a memorable Valentine’s Day tomorrow?
Read my Do’s and Don’ts for Couples and Singles…
Modern technology allows us to stay connected to our loved ones throughout the day. Anywhere, anytime we now have the ability to communicate, share, and update instantly through devices and programs like smart phones, iPads, text messaging, email, instant messaging, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Four Square, and so on. No matter where we are in the world or what time it is, we can always find a way to make a call, email a picture, or share our thoughts. We are visible, accessible, and easily located.
As wonderful as this can and should be in maintaining a strong connection with your partner, advances in technology have also contributed to a new series of relationship problems
Would you like to improve your relationship in 2012?
Read my Top 10 Relationship Tips below and resolve to improve your love life in the New Year!
1. Identify specifically what to change in your relationship. For example, would you like to treat each other better everyday, decrease the fighting, feel more connected, share more with each other, travel together, communicate more, etc. Knowing exactly what you would like to improve in your relationship will help you make those changes a reality in the New Year.
2. Communicate your needs. Knowing what you want out of your relationship in the New Year is important, but you must also learn how to share these needs and wants with your partner. Find time over the next few days to communicate your 2012 needs and identify steps the two of you can take to achieve these goals as a couple.
3. Praise your partner more often. I know I say this all the time, but it is so, so important. It’s extremely easy for us to focus on the things our partner doesn’t do or the things they do wrong, but this can
