When you dreamt about your wedding as a child—and maybe even later on— you probably envisioned a beautiful white dress, wedding bells ringing and smiles all around while the bouquet is being tossed. You probably didn’t picture the possibility of the stress of planning the wedding itself reaching the point where much of the joy surrounding that special day disappears and actually becomes a burden on your relationship! While wedding planning can be an exciting time for you and your family, sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of why you’re planning it in the first place. If you’re in the midst of planning your wedding, take a few minutes to remember it’s just a party and the main event happens after the honeymoon literally and perhaps figuratively ends. Don’t fall for some of the classic wedding mistakes many couples make that can wreak havoc on your relationship:
Author Archives: Michael S. Broder Ph.D.
What Are You Waiting For? Make Changes in Your Life Today
If only you were less stressed, had more free time, felt better in general or with respect to a certain life area—what changes would now you make in your life? In my practice as a psychologist, I frequently hear people talking about waiting until they feel better, for example, to do something they’ve been wanting to; such as beginning the process of a career change or dealing with a glaring relationship issue. What do you tell yourself you’d do or change if only some ongoing state in your life were different? Perhaps you’d start dating or redo your resume, but believe that now isn’t the right time because you’re feeling down. Maybe in your case, you’d try a new hobby or take on a home project, but instead you postpone it because you’ve been feeling too anxious or overwhelmed. If any of these things resonate, ask yourself this simple question: “If not now, when?”
So You’ve Broken Your New Year’s Resolutions…Now What?
It’s now been a few weeks since you set your goals for yourself for the upcoming year. Maybe you wanted to get in shape or eat healthier. Maybe you intended to manage some aspect of your finances better or start the process (resumes, networking, etc.) toward your next career move. If you’ve already found that your motivation to stick to those goals is waning, sure you can wait until late December and try the resolution route again for 2014. But seriously, wouldn’t it be better to get focused now and ask yourself what do I really want to accomplish this year?
Be The Master of Your Emotions
Do you find that at times your emotions get the best of you? What do you usually do when you feel that you’re on the brink of a “meltdown”? Maybe you turn to someone else to console you or maybe you self medicate with drugs, alcohol or something less obvious like overwork. Perhaps at some point, these things no longer do the job and you’re unable to stay on your game because you’re too overwhelmed by emotions. If this is the case, maybe it’s time to learn how to bring the emotions themselves under your own control.
It’s Passion That Blurs the Lines Separating Work and Play
According to Forbes, in 2012 only 50% of adults reported being satisfied with their jobs. Job dissatisfaction can greatly increase levels of anxiety, depression and stress. If this speaks to you, there are a variety of reasons why you may be dissatisfied with your job— ranging from disappointment with salary to feeling unchallenged in your work environment. In a difficult economic climate, it can be frightening or overwhelming to think about making a change. However, the good news is that finding the job you love, or loving the job you have may be within reach, because the main resources you need to achieve happiness in your career —or any other part of your life for that matter—reside within you.
5 Ways to Improve Your Social Life as an Adult
Every milestone in your life comes with meeting new people. As you get older, it can be harder to make and maintain friendships than it was when you were a kid. As a child, you were probably surrounded by peers at school day after day. Perhaps you were involved in activities where you could easily connect with friends who had similar interests. Merely playing together at recess was likely enough for you to foster the roots of a long lasting friendship.
Don’t Let Depression Defeat You!
Feeling a little down from time to time is a normal phenomenon that most of us experience. However, when feelings of sadness, despair, or emptiness linger to the point where they are interfering with your ability to function optimally in your daily life, you may be suffering from depression. According to the Center for Disease Control, an estimated 1 in 10 adults report symptoms of some form of depression—either major depression or one of the other clinical versions of it. Depression can affect every aspect of your life. In addition, it can also make your hopes and dreams seem to be permanently out of reach.
Discover the Benefits of Mindfulness
Do you sometimes find yourself thinking more about past and/or future things than what you’re doing in the present? If so, you might be missing much of the beauty the life has to offer. Perhaps, you’re not performing daily tasks to the best of your ability or it might be that you’re very efficient and productive, but find that once everything is complete on your “to-do” list, your day felt like a total whirlwind. While working on “auto pilot” can sometimes help you to be very successful; achieving greater peace, fulfillment, happiness and self-awareness can come from intentionally stopping to fully take in what’s going on around you. Mindfulness, or the practice of being aware of your mind and body at a given moment, can help increase your awareness in the here and now. Studies show that incorporating this into your daily life can reduce stress and help you to function more at your peak level of performance[1].
Bringing Sexy Back: Reclaiming Your Sexuality
If you’ve been out of the dating scene for a while, are thinking about entering a new relationship, or have found that your relationship has become “sexless”, the idea of having a sexual encounter can be very exciting, but also very nerve-racking. It’s easy to lose touch with your sexual self, so it’s important to give your body and mind permission to feel pleasure and reawaken your sexuality. Here are a few suggestions you can try, to feel more sexual and open to the possibility of experiencing renewed sexual pleasure:
For a Stronger Relationship, Resolve Your Conflicts
No two people can agree on everything, but disagreements or arguments in your relationship don’t have to end with one or both of you angry or in tears. Here are some suggestions to make the bumps in your relationship a little less difficult and more satisfying.