Better communication seems to occur in less stressful marriages. But are you sure which one causes which? Those couples who communicate better experience less stress (as measured by cortisol in their saliva) while discussing a difficult topic. But when you give randomly selected couples a squirt of oxytocin nasal spray in a relationship lab, they communicate better than the couples who...
An awful lot of complaints about the men in our lives start the same: I expect my husband to pick up after himself. I expect him to at least remember when our anniversary is! I expect that when I cook, he does the dishes. I did not expect that once we married, he would kiss me only when he’s looking for sex. And I did not expect he would make such a fuss about visiting my family. I expect...
Sometimes: Because they fail to recognize how much their admiration means to their men, and the words just slip out.
And other times: Because they hurt so much that they want to sting with their words, illogically hoping the response will be a loving one.
I think it’s great, at times of extreme stress, to have someone who remembers who I am and what I believe when the stress is not there.
Let’s say you intended to stay home with your babies, but now your full-time job is the only way to pay the rent and buy the groceries. Or perhaps you have a burning passion to launch a business, but it is not practical right now, because you want to be available to get your mate to dialysis appointments. Or you are this close to a college degree, but you cannot register for courses next...
