by John Ballew | Aug 12, 2013 | Emotional health, relationship problems
A reader writes: I’m not sure how you feel about being solicited for advice, but your article about depression and relationships spoke to me. I’ve been endlessly searching the net for positive stories about dealing with a partner’s depression that... 
by John Ballew | Jan 18, 2013 | Emotional health, Relationships
A reader recently emailed me: I’ve been reading about emotional incest and emotional unavailability. It seems psychotherapists often remind us that we are not responsible for “other people’s feelings.” I am confused. If this is the case then how is... 
by John Ballew | Jan 15, 2013 | maintaining relationship health, strengthening intimacy
Want a resolution suggestion? Make this the year you rout relationship neglect. It is surprisingly easy to forget that a successful love life requires paying attention. The very routine-ness of them can cause us to stop paying attention. A functional relationship... 
by John Ballew | Oct 22, 2012 | Blog, maintaining relationship health
The scenario: Your relationship has been struggling for a while now. Maybe arguments have become more frequent, or intimacy has become less so. You’ve thought about getting help more than once, but you keep hoping things will get better on their own. Or the... 
by John Ballew | Sep 25, 2012 | Dating and single life, ending a relationship, Technology
Sometimes a relationship comes in for a soft landing: a gentle parting of ways after a more or less mutual decision that the relationship isn’t going anywhere. But there are breakups that are anything but “soft.” Those are the ones where the feelings are intense,... by John Ballew | Jul 8, 2012 | Dating and single life, starting a relationship
Relationships are like a dance, moving and flowing, each with a different rhythm. As in other dances, one person often leads for a while and the other follows. The music changes, the arrangement is renegotiated, and the roles change. This is true in all sorts of...