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.

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Marriage Wrecker:  Expectations
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Marriage Wrecker: Disconnection
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

A marriage wrecker is disconnection.  Disconnection can eat away at the foundations of your marriage, creating a vicious cycle, leading to relational collapse.Your marriage is hurting.  Why?  What happened?  What wrecked your marriage?

In the last podcast episode, I discussed how expectations can wreck a marriage.

But unfortunately, there are some other issues and concerns that can wreck your marriage.  This week’s Marriage Wrecker is right at the top of the list.

In fact, it is a recurring theme in my work with couples.  After discussing it in several coaching sessions in the last few days, I thought it was a good topic for an episode of the Save The Marriage Podcast.

What is connection?  What is DISconnection… and why does it happen?  We start there.  We discuss how connection is the life-blood of your relationship… and what happens when it gets squeezed off… often for what seem like good reasons!

The result, though, is the same, even when disconnection is unintentional. (And it almost always is.)

I also cover what to do when you realize the cycle and are ready to break it (what to know and how to approach it, so you don’t get thrown off).

Listen to this important episode below.

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

Expectations can wreck your marriage. Learn how in this episode of the Save The Marriage Podcast.

“What can I expect from my spouse?”  That was the lead question.  Because over and over, her expectations had not been met.

“Expectations,” I told her, “can wreck your marriage.”

“Which expectations?”, she asked.

I noted, “Any.”

But shouldn’t you have expectations?  Shouldn’t you be able to expect things from your spouse?

Let me ask you question:  How’s that going so far?

Some expectations are explicit.  Others are implicit.  Some are internal.  Others are external.

And generally, expectations fail.

That same person said, “So I should just expect my spouse to do nothing, is that right?”  I noted that she just changed to another expectation.  But still, it was an expectation.  And expectations cause problems.  Negative or positive.  They still cause problems.

The solution?  Actually, there are two parts.  Listen in as we take apart your expectations… and shift to something more helpful.

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Is Your Marriage in the Safe Zone?
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

What is a safe marriage for emotional sharing and connecting? What does “feel safe” mean when there has never been violence or threats? How can you help a spouse feel safe enough to share and connect?She started the conversation by telling how she was confused… her spouse had confused her.  He said he didn’t feel safe enough to share his emotions, didn’t feel safe enough to move back into their bedroom, didn’t feel safe enough to talk through their issues.  She told me, “I have never hurt him or threatened to hurt him.  How can he feel unsafe?”

Safety (and feeling safe) is an interesting thing.  There doesn’t actually have to be a real threat in order to feel unsafe.  Our brains are always looking for a sense of threat — and it takes very little to trigger the feeling of threat.  A look, a tone… a small hint can be perceived as a real threat.

We don’t risk connecting when we feel threatened.  Connecting requires vulnerability.  And vulnerability requires a sense of safety.

Again, that is not necessarily tied to reality of threat.  So, do you (and your spouse) create spaces of safety?  Do you internally communicate safety in your relationship?

Learn why this is so important and how to do it in the Save The Marriage Podcast below.

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What Do You Do About Valentine’s Day??
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

You may be a bit confused on how to handle Valentine’s Day, while in the midst of a marriage crisis.  I say that, because people have been searching my website for information about that… and because I get asked that question on a regular basis.

I just shot a short video from my office… and Ziggy decided it was a good time to join me, right before I hit record.  So, here I am (along with Ziggy), discussing how to handle V Day:

 

 

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Hope vs. Hopelessness
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

A hopeless spouse can’t see a way forward, a way to save the marriage. But what IS hope? How can you hold onto hope, in the face of a struggling spouse? We discuss it in this episode of the Save The Marriage Podcast.Miranda asked me, “What do I do?  My spouse is hopeless that we can save our marriage. I’m losing hope, too.”

A couple of weeks ago, I did a training for members of my VIP Program, noting three barriers in the way of a spouse working on the marriage… along with how to respond.  One of those barriers is hopelessness.

But if a spouse is hopeless… how can you hold onto hope?

There is an equation of hope:  hope = goal + pathways to goal + action to get there.

If you noticed from the equation, a spouse (you) can choose hope, even when a spouse is hopeless.  Especially if you recognize that the hopeless spouse cannot see that goal… cannot see a way forward (a path)… and therefore, can’t see a way to take action.

There are traps at each of those three elements of hope… and if one is not present, it isn’t really hope.  So, let’s talk about how to grab each element, keep it in place, and keep moving forward.

Listen to the episode below.

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“I’m Just Not Happy”… The Excuse to Leave?
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

“I’m not happy, you’re not happy.  We can’t stay married.”  True?  Nope.  Wrong perspective.What do you do when a spouse declares, “I’m not happy,” as the reason the marriage has to end?  Or how about, “You’re not happy,” or “I can’t make you happy”?

I have heard this reason given over and over.  It is a common (but false) belief that a marriage needs to end because spouses can’t make each other happy.

The fact is, you cannot make your spouse happy.  And your spouse can’t make you happy.  But that isn’t even the goal!

(Just to be fair, it is possible to make someone miserable!  But make them happy?  Nope.  Not possible.  Ever.)

What does it mean when a spouse wants to end a marriage due to “not being happy”?  And what do you do?  How do you respond?

That is the topic of our conversation on this episode of the Save The Marriage Podcast.  You can listen below.

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“Are We Too Opposite?”
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

What does it mean when a spouse declares, “We are opposites. Our marriage can’t survive.” Are you “opposites”? Does being different doom your marriage? We discuss it in this episode of the Save The Marriage Podcast.Too many times — in my office, by email, on phone calls — I hear a spouse rationalizing their decision that the marriage cannot possibly succeed because, “We’re just opposites, too different to make it.”

But is it true?  Are you “opposites”?  (How are humans ever actually “opposite”?)  And for the sake of argument, does that doom your relationship?

In this episode of the Save The Marriage Podcast, I answer a listener question that you may have, too.  This listener’s spouse has declared, “We are opposites,” and has given up on even trying to save their marriage.  This listener is wondering, “Is that true?  Are we opposites? Does that doom our marriage?”

Since this question comes up so often, I wanted to discuss the reality of this.  I cover my issues with “opposites,” discuss my theory of “Complimentarity,” and trample all over the belief in “compatibility,” an idea that has been espoused by dating sites and apps — and yet has failed in creating strong relationships.

Listen below for my response to “We’re Just Opposites.”

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Not Doing or Not Knowing What To Do
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

Every day, I hear from people who are stuck in a marriage crisis.  When I ask them, “what are you doing to work on your marriage?”, their response is:  “Well, not much…. I’m stuck.”

Not doing anything versus not even knowing WHAT to do. Just to clarify, these folks are all wanting to save their marriage.  None want their relationship to just end.  That’s why they are reaching out to me.

HERE IS WHO I AM

They (and probably you) want to save your marriage.  And yet many times, nothing is really happening.  Maybe you’ve already tried something.  But many times, there hasn’t really been any action.

What’s going on here?  Why no action?

Years ago, a health crisis made me take a long look in the mirror.  Did I know that not exercising was not good?  Yep.  Did I know that eating poorly was not good?  Yep.

And still, I didn’t exercise and I didn’t eat well.

Then, my body rebelled.  To the point that I had doctors telling me that I was headed for disability… and eventual death.  That will get your attention!

I was fortunate.  While their diagnosis was correct, the prognosis was not.  I beat the odds and recovered.  Not because I was taking better care of myself.  I just got lucky.

But it got my attention!  I realized that I had to turn things around… before the next crisis came along… one that I could not beat.

So, I started exercising.  I tried to eat better.  I WANTED to get better.  And sure, there was a difference.  I got in better shape.  I was dealing with stress better.  And yes, in some ways, I was eating better.

My weight, though, didn’t shift much.  I kept trying to eat better… but not much changed on the scale.

Yes, I was frustrated.  I kept telling myself I was DOING something.  But really, it was only a minor shift.  Mostly because I did not understand HOW to make a change.

Did I want to lose weight and get into better shape?  Absolutely.  Had I made some progress?  No doubt.  Had anything truly changed?  Nope.  Except now, I was well aware of my plight?  I knew I needed to change.  I just wasn’t doing anything that was going to make a change.

Know why?

I didn’t know how!

Sometimes, we say we want to do something… but we really don’t.  We just think we should want to do it.  But many times, we really do want to make a change… we just lack the know-how.

So, I started researching.  No, I did not want to do the research on how to eat better.  No, I didn’t even want to be an expert in eating better.  But I wanted to FIND the expert… the person who had already done the research.  Then, I could just follow what they had already found.

First stop was the Slow Carb Diet.  It worked.  I lost weight.  But on cheat days, I felt absolutely awful.  So, I dug deeper and found the Paleo approach.  That was like magic.  Since then, I have just been fine-tuning as I find better research.  That has included Keto dieting, Intermittent Fasting, etc.  My body weight?  I’m 6’4”, and weigh 185.  I wear the same pant waist size as in college.  My body fat is around 11%.  Not bad for an almost-54 year old.

Was it because I became an expert?

No.  It was because I found expertise and followed their advice.  I didn’t need to reinvent something.  I just needed to follow something.

What about marriage?

Here is the honest truth:  most people fail in marriage because nobody told them what marriage was really about.

HERE IS A TRAINING ON WHAT MARRIAGE IS REALLY ABOUT

And even if you might have some idea of what a marriage is about, what do you do when there is a crisis?  There is no reason for you to know how to deal with a crisis.  We rarely know what to do when something unexpected hits.

What caused the problem?

HERE IS A TRAINING ON WHY MARRIAGES GET INTO TROUBLE

“Sure,” you might say, “things haven’t been the best.  But they weren’t the worst.  Why a crisis now?”

HERE IS A TRAINING ON WHY YOU ARE IN CRISIS NOW

Once the crisis is here, you are likely unprepared on what to do.  So, let me suggest taking a look at my Back To Basics Series.

HERE IS THE BACK TO BASICS SERIES OF TRAINING

Here’s what I know:  you are serious about saving your marriage.  That means you have a desire to save your marriage.  But as we have discussed, wanting to save your marriage is far different than knowing how to save your marriage.

The fact that you are not willing to just give up and walk away is commendable.  It is COURAGEOUS to decide to work on saving a marriage.  Saving your marriage MATTERS.

But here is where the “rubber hits the road.”  Desire to save your marriage is not enough.  You need steps.  You need a plan.

How are your efforts going?  Are you stuck?  Let’s get you through this.

Do you have my Save The Marriage System?

“NO” – Click HERE To GRAB My SAVE THE MARRIAGE SYSTEM

“YES” – Click HERE To LEARN MORE About Coaching Options For MORE HELP

Look, I recognize that saving a marriage can be tough, painful, scary, and frustrating.  As much as you WANT to do it, you have to KNOW HOW to do it.  Otherwise, you will either get stuck because you don’t know what to do or make it worse by doing the wrong thing.

It is too important to stay stuck.  It isn’t your fault that you didn’t know what to do.  But it is up to you to figure it out… for you, your spouse, your marriage, and your family.  So, let’s make sure you have what you need.  Let’s get you “up to speed” and get you moving ahead.

It is always your choice on whether to save your marriage or not.  If you decide to, then the next decision is to find out how.

If you need a System that has been tested and refined for nearly 3 decades, GO HERE TO GRAB MY SAVE THE MARRIAGE SYSTEM.

If you have my System, but still need more help, CHECK OUT MY OTHER RESOURCES HERE.

I’m pulling for you!

Lee Baucom, Ph.D.
Creator of the Save The Marriage System
Author of How To Save Your Marriage In 3 Simple Steps, Recovering From The Affair, Marriage Failpoint, Thrive Principles, The Immutable Laws Of Living, The Forgive Process
Host of Save The Marriage Podcast and Thriveology Podcast

Why It All Came Tumbling Down
150 150 Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D.

When a marriage comes crashing down, what happened to create the marriage crisis?  Probably more than you think… and longer than you think.“It suddenly fell apart,” Jenny told me.  As far as she could tell, everything had been great until… one day… her husband said, “our marriage is over.”  Before that, Jenny said, there had been no trouble.

Why did it all come tumbling down?

Rob told me that, sure, there had been some issues along the way.  But he didn’t know his wife was ready to leave… until “out of the blue, she moved out and said we were done!”

Why did it all come tumbling down?

George told me, “I just want us to get back to where we were… before the crisis.”

My response to George was, “Where you were got you to where you are.  You can’t just go back to there.  You need to build a new relationship!”

I told both Jenny and Rob that I very seriously doubted that the crisis was quite so “out of the blue.”  They just didn’t see it coming.

But brick by brick, piece by piece, their relationship was being pulled apart long before it all came tumbling down.  And it is very likely that both they and their spouses bore responsibility.

In this episode of the Save The Marriage Podcast, we explore the roots of trouble, so you can begin to consider why your marriage didn’t just start to crumble.

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