ADHD and the Mental Load: Letting Go of “Shoulds” in Family Life

Does it ever feel like everyone around you is doing more, more activities, more outings, more achievements, and you’re just trying to make it through the day without forgetting the laundry in the washer… again? You’re not alone. Many parents with ADHD feel this pressure even more strongly, especially when the mental load of family…

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Six ways to increase your emotional bank account

Emotional Bank Account

In a relationship, it is vital to consider keeping your emotional bank account firmly in the black. Dipping into the red can lead to disaster. In her research on how a steady diet of positive emotions can help you thrive in life, Psychologist Dr Barbara Fredrickson, identified that it requires a ratio of three positive…

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How to Communicate with Your Partner Effectively

Couple communicating calmly and effectively during a conversation to improve relationship connection

We’ve taken a look at how negative communication patterns affect a relationship in my last post, How Communicating Using the Four Horsemen Can Erode Your Relationship. Now let’s look at how we can approach communication more positively. Learning to communicate effectively matters, and it’s not always easy. Remember, it’s not selfish to communicate your needs.…

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How Communicating Using the Four Horsemen Can Erode Your Relationship

Couple arguing showing emotional disconnection during conflict, representing negative communication patterns in relationships

Communication is vital if you are trying to reconnect with your partner after years of being together but feeling you have drifted apart. Sometimes we slip into negative communication patterns harmful to our relationship; John Gottman identifies these as a relationship’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. While these patterns show up in many relationships, I…

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How to change your mindset to improve your relationship

change your mindset to improve your relationship

When we are in a long-term relationship, the early days of passionate love start to wear off, and we move into a more comfortable, deeper, steady type of love that comes with the feelings of security you have with a long-term partner. But often, we get annoyed by our partner’s quirks, habits, or perceived faults,…

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Passionate love vs. Compassionate love

passionate love in midlife

Do you feel the spark has gone after spending many years in your long-term relationship? That the passionate love has been buried deep under the challenges of your marriage? This is not uncommon in a relationship that has weathered life’s ups and downs and has, well, to be honest, experienced life. Stresses may have eaten…

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What’s your love language?

love language

It’s essential to know your partner’s and your own love language so you can connect with each other on a deeper level and express affection and love to them in a way that they can appreciate and deeply connect to. My language is ‘Acts of Service.’ If I come home and someone has emptied the…

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