Not having bad habits is what separates the healthy from the unhealthy couples. — I grew up believing a healthy relationship was all about finding the right person. If a couple wasn’t healthy, it simply meant they weren’t “soulmates.” What I’ve learned, as both a human and as a Relationship Coach, is that healthy relating skills are learned. Some of us are lucky enough…

These tactics, as uncomfy as they may feel, may help you find the kind of happiness I’ve found. — Prior to dating my second husband, I looked back at all of my relationships and all I could see was a slew of dumpster fires. Each one had been unhealthy, abusive, and/or toxic. I’ve since learned that a healthy relationship must include three things: love, trust, and respect, and all…

Steps that allow you to change how you act and show up in future relationships — I woke up in my daughter’s bed in my children’s bedroom. The room was dark, but it’d been early afternoon when I’d crawled into it sobbing. …

It can happen to anyone because our own trust is used against us. — I’d been married for six years when I found drugs in my house. While my infant twins were napping, I’d decided to hang a tiny canvas painting that celebrated coffee on the wall above my kitchen cabinets. While up there, I glanced along the dirty dusty line of the top…

I cut contact with them years ago because I refuse to have unhealthy people in my or my children’s lives. — My daughter was born on October 22nd, 2020 at 12:40pm. That photo above is of her. My parents have never seen this picture. They may never. Even if I hadn’t had this baby in the time of Covid, no one would have been hanging out in the waiting room to…

As a Relationship Coach that primarily works with couples and a happy wife, I’ve found that it’s the little things that matter the most. — “What’s this?” I asked, holding up the envelope with my name on it. “Something for you,” my husband said. “For me?” I looked down at it confused. It wasn’t a holiday or an anniversary. It was just…a normal day. “Yeah. Just because,” he said, kissing my cheek as he walked…

What may start out as an occasional indulgence can start to negatively impact your relationships. — I stood and stretched and then turned to my then husband and said, “Are you coming to bed?” He glanced up at me. “No. I’ll probably stay up a little longer.” I sighed and walked to our bedroom. Our sex life had never been great, but it’d been better early…

The impact of childhood abuse can be lifelong. — When my children were infants, my mother would often cradle them against her chest, and I’d wonder, How can you contain both the ability to cradle a baby’s head so tenderly yet also have beaten me, your own daughter, with a metal mop? …

— But strengthened my current one. — I was almost 40 when my son was diagnosed with ADHD. He clearly had it. The boy ran around and talked incessantly, narrating the whole of his existence regardless of the context. When I finally got him in to be tested, the doctor sat us both in a room. The…