“lots of people do stay married for the long haul and of those who do many of them find a sublime experience: the pleasure, interest and feeling of being with somebody for a half-century. a partner who can palpably sense that their spouse is committed to them is the no. “it’s a sign that we still choose to be connected.” still, both husband and wife attest to the more sobering ebbs and flows of a union spanning decades.

“the battle …

but that vision of happily-ever-after can begin to get cloudy five to 10 years into a marriage, as the responsibilities of work and family life begin to press in upon us, and quality time together naturally declines. and there is no reason to assume that trajectories of relationship quality are different today than they were in the 1980s and 1990s. alysse elhage: one of the interesting parts of this study, to me at least, is that your sample included 205 …

she provides therapy to people who struggle with addictions, mental health, and trauma in community health settings and private practice. she received her ms in clinical mental health counseling from marquette university in 2011. there are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. in this case, 85% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. if you’re tired of playing the field, or are interested in …

the sparkly and exhilarating rush of falling in love is not permanent. when it comes to a long-term relationship with a partner we ourselves chose, we can maintain the thrill of being in love, and deepen our feelings of passion and intimacy. fighting for a relationship means being stubborn about not getting in our own way of staying close to someone else. the ability to laugh with one another is a true sign of vitality in a relationship. a sense …

i saw the two of us in technicolor and the rest of the world in black-and-white. perhaps this is nature’s way of helping us bond with the beloved, oblivious to the problems that lie ahead. when the newness and the magic fade, many of us become lazy in our relationship habits. we become reactive to the negative, and overlook the positive in our relationships. but staying calm in the face of stress is vital if you want to be a …