Staying together for the kids is one of the most difficult questions many parents face. It often comes from a place of love: wanting to protect children from disruption, loss and uncertainty. At the same time, children are not only affected by whether their parents live together, but by the emotional climate they grow up [...]
Romantic relationships tend to start in a blaze of passion and strong emotions, expectations and dreams. But when – as sometimes happens – that initial honeymoon period turns into the realisation that both of you are living with a partner who displays the type of traits and emotions which you find hard to accept, it [...]
Because the end of a marriage often consumes a couple’s attention, it can also be an incredibly stressful time for the whole family. Statistics show that around 40{7e66f01e68c52d858b59d425bd8f3886b02d30322136bee7d8e459b39be00af4} of the 8234 couples who got divorced in New Zealand last year had at least one child and more than 6000 children in total found themselves in [...]
Mindfulness is not about burying your emotions – it’s about understanding them. And that’s what makes it such a wonderful tool when it comes to dealing with romantic relationships. Living with a partner or spouse can be a potentially stressful situation – especially when it comes to both knee-jerk reaction rows and long-term simmering stress. [...]
Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD is a psychological condition more common than most people realise, largely because it mostly affects interpersonal dynamics and is often wrongly seen as a relationship issue rather than a mental health one. People who have BPD are prone to frequent, excessive emotional outbursts, which explains why maintaining a relationship with [...]
Cannabis is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world, and the most widely used in New Zealand with about 13{7e66f01e68c52d858b59d425bd8f3886b02d30322136bee7d8e459b39be00af4} of the population aged 16–64 admitting to using it on a regular basis, making the country the 9th highest cannabis consumer in the world. Cannabis is a bit of a wolf in [...]
If you or your partner have started using controlled drugs for recreational use, you face more than health and legal problems. Substance abuse inevitably wreaks havoc on relationships on many levels. A healthy relationship depends on trust, openness, and honest communication. Drug use makes people unpredictable, withdrawn, emotionally unstable and manic. The end result is [...]
Do you feel a strong emotional bond with your partner? If so, you should celebrate. If there’s one thing that marks a relationship that’s alive and vital, it’s the emotional connection. If your connection isn’t what it once was, you shouldn’t be too concerned. It may well be the natural part of the evolution of [...]
Do you spend some quality time talking with your partner every day? I don’t mean chatting about what you had for lunch or what you’re going to watch on the box, but real conversations in which you genuinely share your plans, fears, and aspirations, and sort out your differences in an adult way. If you [...]
Do you fear alcohol is undermining your relationship? For most people, alcohol is a social lubricant that mellows the mind and removes shyness. Unlike other drugs such as marijuana and cocaine, it’s legal, freely available and enjoyed regularly by many adults. However, it’s also a powerful psychotropic drug that affects mood and behaviour, sometimes in [...]
