Tag: strain

If you’re looking for a situation to test the strength of your marriage, I recommend an affair. An adoption might be a little too much.

Seriously, adoption brings serious stress to a marriage. Much of the anxiety comes from the unknown. Being a father to children my wife, Amy, and I created biologically, as well as to others whom we adopted, I can tell you that adoption, at least for us, was more stressful.

With the children that came from our own genes, we knew when they were coming. Once the stick turned blue, we were on a nine-month countdown.

A friend of mine made the mistake of driving after a night of drinking with the guys—and seriously injured a lady crossing the street. He was truly "scared sober," but nonetheless, paid for his error in judgment with jail time. Along with the jail time came the loss of his job, serious erosion of his credibility in the community and a host of other issues. He feared the consequences to his marriage would be dire.

Stuff happens. Not necessarily as dramatic as what happened to my friend, but serious and unexpected. You lose your job. Then your spouse is downsized. Or one of you requires an unanticipated surgery at horrendous expense:

In marriage, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and attention deficit disorder (ADD) can wreak havoc if not identified and treated. The following two-part series explores the symptoms and treatments, in addition to providing advice for those with ADHD and the spouse of those dealing with this disorder. The intertwined relationship of a marriage also requires specific responsibilities that are addressed. Above all else, know that there is help.

You’ve discussed it with your spouse and weighed the financial pros and cons. You’re both excited and you’re ready to spread your entrepreneurial wings with your great new service. However, when it comes to really putting all the pieces in place, there may be some uncertainty of exactly how to start. Here are some easy first steps couples can take, along with mistakes to avoid, when they step off into entrepreneurship.

1. Work with people who have a proven track record. All too often we want to work with friends or referrals, and in many cases that means two things:

In these tough economic times, many marriages are suffering as a result of job loss. The strife can be enormous, the toll can be a life altering experience…truly devastating.

Having met with many couples who called it quits because financial stressors tore their relationship apart, I have made a point of offering some tips on how to keep the marriage intact through such a rough patch, and more importantly suggest that they use this "professional interruption" as an opportunity to strengthen the relationship.