Forget about Christmas, Mother’s Day, or New Year’s Eve: No other holiday brings on the pressure like Valentine’s Day. On a day that’s all about love, for those that are in relationships, just starting one, or are single, some serious time, energy, and stress can go into ensuring that the…
According to new research* from Thriveworks, over a third (34%) of Americans believe that their romantic relationships (current or previous) are the leading cause of their mental health concerns. Love, attachment, and intimacy can all trigger buried fears, past traumas, and self-esteem issues. And yet we still seek connection with…
Ask anyone headed to watch the next Marvel flick: It’s hard not to idolize the heroines and heroes within the realms of popular fiction. Whether they’re on the silver screen, in books, TV series, or even video games, many of us admire these depictions of larger-than-life characters. But, even though…
It sounds like a bad dream, but experiencing a breakup during the holiday season is common. The holidays are one of the most stressful times of the year, as we scramble to arrange our travel plans, find the perfect gifts, and try not to clash with all the different personalities…
Toxic relationships are everywhere: We can have an unhealthy attachment to our parents, our partners, even our phones— anything that we interact with, really. Yet rarely do we take a look at our friends. This might be important, considering they’re the people we often vent to about everything (and everyone)…
For tens of thousands of years humans have been passionate about their fur babies. The deep bonds between Homo sapiens and other animal species seem so common and obvious that they’ve only recently been studied scientifically. So how did we get from throwing food scraps to wolves at the outskirts…
As social stigma and perceptions surrounding mental health conditions continue to change, popular usage of mental health terms is increasing as well. Of these terms, “trauma bonding” has been among the most used, researched, and debated. A form of psychological manipulation, trauma bonding occurs when someone experiences cyclical abuse from…
The sweet, charming, handsome ex-Marine you’ve been emailing and texting with for eight months has a family emergency and can’t make his flight to meet you for the first time. You’re crushed. You’d let yourself fall hard for this guy, and now it might be another few months before you…
One thing that we’ve all learned from romantic comedies is that significant others can live in harmony even when their lifestyles are radically different. For example, one SO might prefer reading on the couch to running triathlons. One SO might spring out of bed at 5am to get a headstart…
As the name implies, micro-cheating occurs when partners use small gestures or actions to engage with someone outside of their relationship in a flirtatious manner. Micro-cheating can happen when we cross the line with coworkers or friends, spend too much time secretly scrolling through our ex’s social media, or even…
What if our partner’s financial status had been remarkably different, right from the beginning of our relationship. Would that have changed our decision about dating them? What if they’d been even poorer—or what if they’d been richer? As shallow as it sounds, money does make the world go round; and…
When I first met my now-husband’s friends, we all went out to dinner. When we were eating dessert, one of the wives said, “I have known several girlfriends through the years, and he never shares his dessert with anyone. He must really like you!” I laughed, thinking she was kidding….
