THE CHESTNUT HILL INSTITUTE

OK, let’s just get right into it, part 2 of overcoming the obstacles couples face who aren’t having as much sex as they’d like: (more…)

Okay, from our last blog we learned that there are 13 specific reasons why couples are having less sex.  And surely at least one of them applies to you.  So let’s go through them one at a time.  We’ll give you QUICK suggestions for how to overcome each obstacle.  (more…)

If love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage, what about sex and marriage? 

Well, for many of us it starts out like a horse and carriage and ends up like a horse and pogo stick. 

You start out filled with passion and the desire for intimacy.  Then the nonsense of daily life takes over: arguments about who’s going to pick up the dry cleaning, who should’ve paid what bill.  Then babies come, and too often sex flies out the window completely.  You’re too busy, too tired, too often pissed off at each other.  The next thing you know it’s been a very long time since you made love, and the more time passes, the harder it is.  At least, that’s how it is for many of us.  No wonder it seems that marriage is a machine for creating babies and destroying sex. 

But is sex an inevitable casualty of marriage?  Absolutely not.  It doesn’t have to be this way at all. 

So what is the culprit?  And what do you do about it?  (more…)

Yeah, I know.  Is death ever easy to deal with?  But some deaths are more difficult than others.  Not long ago, I attended a funeral for a young man in his 30s who’d died after a long battle with drugs, leaving behind a daughter whose mother had abandoned both of them a long time before.  And he’s been a very brilliant guy filled with promise.  And how do you handle a death like that if you’re his mother or daughter? 

There are many reasons some people’s deaths are hard to deal with.  Their life was short or difficult.  Or you had a complicated relationship with them that left you with unfinished business.  Or their death was unusually painful.  What does healthy mourning look like in these cases?  (more…)

Just got an email from a woman I’ve known since I was a kid:  “Finally grieving for my Dad and Henry. Always pushed my emotions away, and stuffed them. Some days I stay home , some days I want to go out with my friends. Being more conservative with my finances.  What do you suggest ?”

Death happens.  And it sucks.  I hate death.  I don’t want wonderful things to end, and all the people in my life are wonderful (some more than others!). 

But still—death does happen and then we have to deal with it.  That’s called mourning: the ways we deal with the death of someone we care about.  And it turns out there are healthy and less-than-healthy ways to do that.  (more…)

Well, that’s one solution.  How many wives (and husbands) have smacked, shoved, pinched, and even punched their spouse because they couldn’t take the snoring any more? 

Lots!  And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  Up to a third of couples report that one partner’s sleep habits are driving the other crazy or hurting their relationship.  (more…)

Okay, so this guy I know is a CEO who leads a busy life where, at least on the job, he is the star of his world, or the captain of the ship, or the head cheese, or something like that.  But he started telling me one day about how he doesn’t feel appreciated in his life.  Not anywhere really.  Not on the job, and especially not at home.  And I started thinking, Do any of us feel appreciated?  (more…)

We started doing it way back in 1991.  We knew it worked and was cost effective.  Now new research confirms that.  Doing what?   (more…)

Ninety percent of moms have a secret addiction.  (more…)

Are you Money Compatible with your partner?  Well, you’d better get compatible, or you might get into big trouble.

Jennifer fell in love with Michael for all the normal reasons.  (more…)