A marriage is a complicated relationship. It entails plenty of patience, sacrifice and selflessness to be successful. Although statistics show that many first marriages end up in divorce, the rate actually varies according to a couple’s education, culture, religious beliefs and many other factors.
Though getting a divorce may be the healthiest option for some couples, there are those who wish to salvage their union. Couples who are encountering problems can seek marriage counseling in Broomfield to try to work out their issues. Some are successful and able to save their relationship.
Here are some of the reasons seeking the guidance of a counselor may be the best route to take to save your marriage.
1. Negative Communication
Communication is essential in every relationship. Once it deteriorates, it often becomes difficult to get it back on the right track. Negative communication may leave a partner feeling insecure, depressed or disregarded, and may just want to keep silent. In worse cases, negative communication doesn’t only cause hurt feelings but also leads to physical and emotional abuse.
2. The “Third Party”
When one or both parties have considered having another partner or have had a relationship, recovery can be difficult. The trust is broken, and it will take a lot of effort to recover from betrayal. The couple should be committed and willing to forgive, forget and move forward. There’s no easy way to recover from an affair, but if the couple is committed to the process and on being honest, then their marriage can be saved.
3. Intimacy Is Lost
When couples have become more like colleagues than a married couple, they feel that they are just “co-existing.” This situation should call for a skilled counselor to help the couple sort out the problem and find what’s missing in their union. Counseling can help the couple bring back the romance and intimacy in their union.
4. Acting Out on Negative Feelings
Sometimes, a partner will have ill feelings for the other but can be good at keeping it inside. Although he or she is able to hide it, these feelings are still bound to surface. Ill feelings, such as disappointments, resentment and frustration, can become hurtful or harmful behaviors.
An example of this is a wife hurt by the husband’s indiscretion. Despite agreeing to stay in the relationship and work it out, the wife becomes spiteful and purposely does things to make the husband feel the pain she feels. Skilled counselors can help the couple find better ways for expressing their negative feelings.
5. Staying Together for the Children
Some couples decide to stay together for their children despite having a relationship that’s clearly deteriorating. Often, the couple believes this is the best choice for the family, but civility in a couple can become detrimental to the children. Not all unions can be saved and kids are very intuitive, so they understand what’s going on no matter how the parents hide it.
In the marriage counseling process, some couples may discover that it’s healthier for the whole family if they get divorced and move on. However, couples who are truly committed to saving their marriage through the counseling will find new ways of falling in love with their partner and making their union even stronger than before.
