Free Relationship Advice Online

The worse thing in the world is to feel controlled and manipulated. Each waking day, our minds are challenged by forces that try to identify and dictates to us what we need to do. Whether we know it or not, the forces of manipulation and control are always at work even before we get out [...]

When we are clear and focused within ourselves, boundaries automatically emerge and begin to move into place. In other words, boundaries are to some extent established subconsciously, as a result of mature self-love. Another dimension of boundaries requires our consciously focused attention and effort. We will look at these two levels in terms of our [...]

In America, single parent families are really frowned upon. The family is supposed to have a mother and a father and anything less is unacceptable in the eyes of most people.
Young mothers who head single family homes are looked at as being in another class level in America. Many children are born out of wedlock [...]

Most would say that it is an understatement when someone says that children are difficult to raise. There is a continuous struggle to define and re-define boundaries, as well as to discover what appropriate behavior is and what is more difficult. One of the problems that many parents have is with children exploring and taking [...]

Most everyone remembers from high school the nicknames given to those who stood out a little bit. There may have been a girl with braces, a guy with clothes that didn’t fit just right, or the freshman who was overweight. The judgments and perceptions that are developed at this time often don’t go away, leading [...]

Too often the focus on healthy relationship communication exists in what each person says. The idea that one-way messages are at the heart of good relationship communication is what destroys relationships. Active listening skills are a must-have technique to anyone interested in building good relationships. There are a variety of active listening skills you can [...]

Sooner or later in our lives we all want to have an intimate relationship with our partner and begin to live together. There is a lot of talk on the legal side of things as well as relationship problems. Before you decide to move in with your new relationship partner or have them move in [...]

Emotions are a fundamental reason we have relationships because of the satisfaction we get from interaction and the fulfilment of our needs it provides. Understanding emotions in your relationships helps you diagnose relationship problems. There is a peculiarity with emotions that they infect a relationship either damaging it or enhancing it. The impact of negative [...]

“Dr. Fiore,” my 42 year old married patient (Mary) began, “once again my family expects me to host Christmas dinner and I am simply too exhausted; what should I do?”
“Why not tell them how you feel?” I asked.
“Because I don’t want to hurt their feelings - I always feel guilty if I don’t do what [...]

If you believe problems and disillusionment are inevitable, you’re right. Curiously, it is not the problems that create so much distress. Your relationship satisfaction will actually depend on:

How you think about your difficulties
How you manage your feelings
Where you focus your attention
How you act and communicate under stress

If you can change your conviction that your partner [...]