Monthly Archives :

March 2020

Staying the Course in a Crisis (or 2)
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

How to stay the course, keep moving forward, and deal with 2 crises at once: your marriage and the coronavirus.The phrase, “Stay the Course,” comes from the commitment in battle to continue moving toward your goal, regardless of obstacles or difficulties.  So first, let’s let go of the battle analogy.  You aren’t in battle.  But you are fighting for your marriage.

And in this moment, you are fighting to keep yourself and your family safe.

Those are the goals.  And that is the problem.  A single crisis is tough enough.  But a crisis, squared.  It isn’t just double.  The struggle is exponential.  That’s because a crisis on top of a crisis is not cumulative.  It can feel like it multiplies the struggle.

So, then, how do you stay the course?

I cover these 4 ways in this episode of the Save The Marriage Podcast:

  1. Have a plan.
  2. Practice extra patience and grace.
  3. Refuse to absorb anxiety.
  4. Do the Next Right Thing.

Listen below for the details on each.

RELATED RESOURCES
Why You Need A Plan
Emotions and Your Marriage
Dealing with Fear
Save The Marriage System

What Now? – Saving your marriage in the midst of a pandemic
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

What now?  What do you do when your marriage is in crisis… and a crisis hits the world?  Let’s talk about it.First, you were caught in the swirling whirlwind of a marriage crisis.  Now, to add to that, a pandemic is taking over.  Whatever fears you had about your marriage are now layered with your concerns about your health (and the health of loved ones).

It is amazing how quickly things are moving.  This crisis has been on the radar since the first of the year.  But as with many things (including a marriage struggle), most people don’t pay much attention until it is cascading into a crisis.  Then, we are playing “catch up.”

Trying desperately to get ahead of the situation.  But generally finding ourselves falling further and further behind.

A crisis tests us. Both a marriage crisis and a world crisis.  They test us.  To see whether we rise up or give up.  Whether we go with what matters or what is easy.  Do we act in fear or lead with courage?

We talk about this in this episode of the Save The Marriage Podcast.  Listen below.

RELATED RESOURCES
Being a WE
Importance of Connection
Dealing with Fear in Marriage
Dealing with Fear in Life
Save The Marriage System

Where Did The Love Go?
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

I get that question very frequently:  “What happened?  Where did the love go?”

Maybe you feel it, maybe you hear it.  The end result is the same:  one or both people  just not feeling it… not feeling love.  Maybe “I love you, but I’m not IN love with you.” Or maybe, “I care about you, but I don’t love you.”  Or maybe more simply, “I don’t love you.”

Then what?

And where did the love go?  It was there before.  Did it really go away?

In this episode of the Save The Marriage Podcast, I discuss the causes of love gone missing.  We look at where the love went, and talk about how to bring it back.

Listen below.

RELATED RESOURCES
Connection and Marriage
Conflict and Marriage
Pause Button Marriage
Interview with Gary Chapman
Self-Expansion and Marriage
Save The Marriage System

Marriage Wrecker: Conflict
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

Conflict can wreck your marriage.  Don’t let it!  Learn how conflict can help you improve your marriage, not destroy it.Over the last couple of episodes, I have been looking at what wrecks marriage.  First, I discussed Expectations.  Then, I discussed Disconnection.

In this episode, we look at another “Marriage Wrecker”:  Conflict.

Yes, I know, plenty of people will tell you that conflict is inevitable in marriage.  And it is certainly true that every marriage… any relationship that is as intimate as marriage… is going to include disagreements and differences-of-opinions.

That is not the question.  The question is, how do you deal with the disagreements?  How do you do conflict?  If you aren’t careful, conflict can wreck your marriage.

Why?  Because it often becomes adversarial — going for the win, not for the relationship.

In this episode of the Save The Marriage Podcast, we look at how conflict can wreck your marriage… or how you can keep it from happening.

Listen below.

RELATED RESOURCES
Marriage Wrecker:  Expectations
Marriage Wrecker:  Disconnection
The Role of Conflict
Fighting FOR Your Marriage
Conflict To Intimacy
Save The Marriage System