Marriage Counseling Expert Says, “Stop
-- Holidays Are No Time to Split Up”
Marriage Counseling Expert
Says, “Stop -- Holidays Are No Time to Split Up”
What is marriage counseling expert Nancy Wasson’s best advice for
couples planning to split up over the holidays? “Don’t do
it!” she warns. “Timing is everything. Don’t be the
grinch who stole Christmas -- or you may have a lot to regret later.”
Birmingham, AL (PRWEB) November 28, 2005 –- Marriage counseling
expert Nancy Wasson has advice for couples planning to call it quits over
the holidays. “Don’t break up now,” she says. “Things
are stressful enough this time of year without visiting the trauma of
a marriage separation on yourself and your family.”
Wasson admits it’s hard to get excited about holiday decorating,
gift giving, family dinners and parties-parties-parties when you’re
co-existing in the same household with a husband or wife with whom you
are anything but close.
Is there a way to get through it?
“Yes,” she assures. “But first, you must look the situation
straight in the face. You can’t check out or wave a wand and make
the holidays disappear, no matter how much you want to. But you can learn
ways to relax and practice patience as you make your way through the season.
Wasson offers six tips for surviving December in one piece – even
when your marriage is falling apart.
• Fight depression with action. Limit alcoholic intake. At the first
sign you’re sinking, break the cycle and reach out. When you crawl
inside yourself there’s no where to go but down.
• Stay in the present moment. Speculating on the worst possible
outcome for your marriage instead focusing on what you can control today
prevents opportunities for growth and change.
• Monitor your self-talk. Tell yourself: “I can get through
this. Little by little, day by day, I am taking positive steps and making
sound choices for a brighter future. I can’t do it all at once,
but I certainly can do it.”
• Release the burden of unrealistic expectations – yours and
others. You cannot pretend everything is fine when it’s not. Don’t
be embarrassed to accept help. For instance, take a break by allowing
trusted friends to include your kids in activities they have planned for
their children.
• Stay in close contact with the people you enjoy most, such as
church friends and favorite family members. Distance yourself from negative,
judgmental people and ignore prying questions. Now more than ever, you
need to connect with thepositive people in your life.
• Focus on what is good in your life. Read uplifting books, listen
to motivational tapes and inspiring music. Exercise, do small favors for
friends and corny as it sounds, don’t forget to smile whenever you
can. This is food for the soul.
Marriage Counselor Nancy Wasson, Ph.D., has been a Licensed Professional
Counselor for more than twenty years. She coaches couples in unhappy marriages
and provides immediate help through the privacy of telephone and email
consultations. She is the author of “Keep Your Marriage: What to
Do When Your Spouse Says ‘I Don’t Love You Anymore!'”
Click here to subscribe to her free weekly marriage advice newsletter.
Lee Hefner, President
Adesso Press
205-989-7770
www.KeepYourMarriage.com