When silence is used to manage conflict in an intimate partnership, misunderstanding and increased emotional distance are likely. Stonewalling in relationships can also cause one or both partners to experience anxiety or depression, and may lead ultimately to separation.
Technology enables moms to multitask more easily but more is expected of modern parents. Even in households espousing gender equality, women tend to take on more of the childcare and household responsibilities, as well as the corresponding mental load. Dads can ease this burden by taking more initiative and following through.
Being on your phone instead of listening when your partner is speaking as well using phones and cameras to monitor your partner’s activities are examples of how technology enters relationships. Our phones and other devices can interfere with intimacy and also help us avoid difficult conversations.
Motherhood is often not what we understood or imagined it would be based upon our observations of our own mothers. While growing up, we often failed to see the behind the scenes work and effort that we now experience first hand.
Family law matters that include allegations of a history of domestic violence pose difficult challenges for the court system. Usually both parents are eventually awarded parenting time. For victims, getting support to heal from their experiences in the relationship and to cope with these realities of co-parenting can be a lifeline.
Rates of divorce have been doubling in age groups above age 54. Gray divorcees, or so-called “silver splitters” or “diamond splitters,” may have spent quite a number of years together prior to the divorce. In these late life separations, emotional well-being and finances may be negatively impacted to such an extent that one or both partners never fully recover.
Sometimes following separation there is a hurdle in beginning to use the term, “The Ex,” when referring to your former husband or wife. There may be a journey towards speaking these words aloud, with support coming from colleagues, friends, family - even strangers - who have walked the path of separation before you.
Letting go of the family home is hard. The home that you and your ex made when you were together is a symbol of the hopes and dreams that you had for the marriage and your family life together – happily ever after, until death do us part. Grieving the loss of these hopes and dreams is a huge part of the emotional recovery following a separation or divorce.
Allegations of alienation are common in high conflict divorce matters. It can be difficult to distinguish alienation and gate-keeping..The emptiness of a parent’s home when the children are with the other parent and the grief that the parent experiences while missing the children can contribute to these patterns.
Separation can make it feel like life as you knew it has come to an abrupt halt. It may seem overwhelming to make necessary decisions, such as where to live or work. Making decisions is empowering and can set you on a path forward. Viewing decisions as subject to future revision as circumstances change may help.
