Winning Your Relationship Game
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**Wanting**

12/18/2019

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 I heard a podcast today. The speaker told about the magical lead up to Christmas.  He has 3 children, and the joyful wanting of presents far outweighed the thought of day after possessions for the children.

Children naturally and unashamedly want what they want.  And they usually want it when they want it! Most of us got the message along the way, wanting is not good. We should be satisfied with what we have. We shouldn't be selfish. Good girls and boys don't ask for things. 

As adults, we have difficulty tapping back into that wanting.  So many conflicting messages.
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I remember when my oldest daughter was about 3, I drove several hours away to Mobile, AL in search of a specific toy. These were the days before Amazon and she wanted a specific Rub a dub Doggie. It was my greatest want to make her happy. ​
​As adults, we know, a rubber toy isn't going to do it.  Material things might give us a fleeting moment. We can milk experiences a bit more because they give us memories.  But as adults, we want more intangible things. 

We want to feel free of pain, physical and emotional.  We want to feel close to our partner. We want to time travel backwards and change that last bad decision we made.  We want to be free from those panic attacks.

Yes, we still want things.  I wish i could drive to Mobile and get these things for these lovely souls I work with.  They all deserve it, they've been so good.

Wanting it all, 
Allison 

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A Word About Porn-Vid

11/6/2019

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Concerned about porn use by you or your partner? This video discusses why porn might be detrimental to your relationship.
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I Have the Urge to Cheat......Q&A

10/30/2019

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My Response:  As someone who's been married for over 20 years, it's natural to feel attraction for someone else. It's not ok to act on those feelings unless you have that type of relationship. Sounds like you don't.

Emotions are always trying to tell us something. Is there a source of unhappiness in your relationship? Boredom? Believe me, every relationship has issues. I bet you felt the same excitement about your current boyfriend when you first met.

Unfortunately, when we feel attracted to another person, we begin to compare them to our partner. Of course, we know all our partners warts, so we are comparing apples and oranges.

Consider it fully before you end a real relationship for something you don't really know.  If the relationship is important to you, consider counseling.  It may help you recognize whether you really want to be committed or not. 

Hope that helps, 
Allison 

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How to Affair Proof Your Relationship

9/11/2019

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​While I don’t believe there is a way to really affair proof your relationship, there is a great deal of research on the common factors which lead to affairs.  Affairs create trauma to the spouse of the unfaithful partner.  Forgiveness and trust can be extremely difficult to regain.  Often, the relationship is doomed.  While common factors are useful to know, the best approach may be preventative.

Some qualities of relationships which often are present when affairs occur are high conflict, low emotional warmth, neglect of pleasure, and discomfort with emotional closeness by one partner.

How can you use this information to strengthen your relationship?  Building and reinforcing the qualities indicated above can be a great starting point.  Using the embedded worksheet, you can identify areas where attention is needed. 

The lowest numbers indicated by either partner will direct your focus.  For instance, if engagement is low for one partner, it may be helpful to learn some healthier means of addressing conflict.  If excitement is low for the other spouse, perhaps they need to take some risks. 

Next:  How do you know what to do about it?  Agree on some concrete actions to work on.  In our above example of engagement, determine what each partner pictures as “engagement”.  Maybe one sees that as taking long walks holding hands and discussing issues.  Maybe the other partner sees that as giving each other a kiss good bye every time they part.  Everyone gets to have their own definition which means they are all valid!!   
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Here’s the kicker……trade rating scales with each other.  After all, the goal is each partner’s ratings will move higher and higher.  What can each improve on that will lead to higher relationship satisfaction for their partner?  Even small changes can lead to relationship improvements.  (You do get credit for effort when you’re working on your relationship.)


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3 Easy Rules to Win Your Relationship Game!

8/28/2019

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​You know every game you play has rules.  Usually, we get a nice instruction sheet that spells everything out for us nicely.  We can reference it when we’re not sure of how it goes.  Unfortunately, we don’t have a rulebook for relationships.  I’ve come up with a few though and I’ve tried to keep it simple. 
1.  It’s ALL about you!

            Relationships are our biggest teachers.  Often they are our first voluntary “belonging” type relationships.  This makes them unequaled in highlighting our weaknesses.  When our belonging gets shaken, a primal evolutionary fear emerges.  It pushes us to action which our history tells us will solve the problem, soothe the fear.  Often, this action brings us exactly the opposite of what we want.

            We only have control over one person…..that’s ourselves.  Focusing your energy and attention on what your partner needs to change is very inefficient.  You’ve got to stay focused on the things you need to change.  A relationship is a system and when you alter one part of a system, the whole thing changes.  This is great news because that means you can create positive change in yourself and it will impact your relationship. 

2.  You will have to change.

            That’s the sad truth.  You can’t count on your partner changing.  Nothing’s going to change unless you do.  What do you want to change?  Change behaviors that are not contributing to the health of your relationship.  We all have them. 

            Changing means you’re going to have to behave in different ways than you currently do.  Unfortunately, most of our behaviors are automatic.  Just like changing any habit, you’ll have to put in effort to remember to change.  The good news is, after you’ve established a new habit, it gets a lot easier. 
             
3.  You have to do it.

            You’ll have to spend time learning and practicing new behaviors.  That implies a time commitment as well as consistency and persistence.  Penciling in some reading time on Tuesday afternoons won’t cut it.  Daily practice, every day, even when you feel that it’s not working is the definition of consistency and persistence.  Harsh reality is, change doesn’t happen without some effort.  If you’re not willing to do that, you might not want to improve your relationship as much as you think you do. 

            Have you proclaimed, “I’m working so hard to make this work.”  Or, “I’ll try anything to make this relationship better.”  Then I don’t care if you think it’s silly or hard.  You’ll do anything, right?  If that’s true, then do it. 

         Practice Time:  Are you willing to be the change agent in your relationship?  Can you devote time and attention to identifying and changing your own behaviors?  Are you willing to be consistent and persistent with that attention for at least 90 days before giving it up? 

If so, you may well master your Relationship Game!

Playing Through, 
Allison 

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Q&A-How Can I Find Happiness?

8/14/2019

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​Q-How can I find happiness in depressing moments like when there is stress, when I get rejected, when the weather is bad, etc.?



A-You have to decide to.

In every situation there is something you appreciate or be grateful for. For instance, if it's raining, you can be mesmerized by the drops hitting the puddles or be grateful that the plants will have what they need to grow.

Stress hijacks our attention and focuses us on survival. But most situations really aren't that important and we have to recognize that we don't have to allow our thoughts to run away from us, we can control them with some practice.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tells us events and feelings are separate entities.  Our thoughts about events are what lead to our feelings about it. 

For example, it’s raining.  I think, “This sucks!   There go my plans for today!” Then I end up feeling disappointed and bad. 

I can choose to think different thoughts that lead to different feelings.  For example, I can think, “This sucks, and I’m disappointed, but maybe I can find something interesting to do inside today.  Yeah, I got that new puzzle!  I’m going to work on that today!”  I’ve got a whole new feeling coming out of the same situation just by altering my thoughts. 

This can take some practice, but I’ve written lots of other articles addressing how our thoughts, feelings and behaviors impact each other.  If you feel that you’re just depressed and can’t succeed in changing your thoughts, find a therapist that practices Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. 

Best of luck,
Allison 

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    Helping You 
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    Allison Velez,
    Florida Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Mental Health Counselor 


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