WellnessWithHolli

As I have gotten older, I have noticed "Seniors Behaving Badly"!! They can also experience Couple Trouble!! Gen Xers, Millennials, and iGeners , take note! A few summers ago, I spent several months in the Palm  Springs area of Southern California. Although I had worked in the desert for many years, I had not lived there for a very long time. Because it is largely a retirement community, there is a substantial senior population, even during the summer months.  As the weeks passed, I was often taken back by the disrespectful and often mean behavior between senior partners .  Whether it was in a grocery store, or in line at a movie theater, or at a restaurant, I was frequently shocked and saddened at the level of arguing between them or of one partner barking at the other over nothing, and at the complete lack of patience, respect, or kindness exhibited from one spouse towards the other. It is not that I was naive to this sort of behavior; however, it seemed to jump out at...

For the past several weeks, we have been discussing Couple Trouble - What Is At The Root Of It?  and  You Mean, "I" Have To Change?   If you have not read the previous two blogs, please do so! Today's blog will make more sense and the exercises will be more meaningful. Once both partners have finished the L ife Messages Exercise  - completing all five sections - you are ready to Rediscover and Reconnect with one another. Let's get started. Share Life Messages First , set aside an hour when both partners are available to meet. Make sure there are no interruptions or distractions.  Kids need to be put to bed or safely occupied. Put away all technology and/or work commitments!  Find a quiet comfortable place to meet and sit, facing each other. Bring your L ife Messages Exercises  to share with your partner. Secondly , follow the steps in the Empathic Reflective Listening Exercise .  One partner begins while the other listens.There is no in...