Growing Together in Marriage

Latest Posts:

Love, Fidelity, and the Evolution of Marriage: A Spiral Dynamics View of Why We Stay, Leave, or Stray (+Free Journal)

When we fall in love outside marriage, what truly drives us — desire, unmet need, or the evolution of consciousness itself? This essay explores love and fidelity through the lens of Spiral Dynamics, attachment, and Tennov’s limerence. Discover how our inner world shapes whether we stay, leave, or stray — and what that reveals about…
When Attachment Healing Changes Our Relationships: Grieving, Growing, and Trusting the Process

When we heal attachment wounds, our relationships naturally change. This article explores how growth reshapes friendships and love, why old patterns fall away, and how to navigate grief, new values, and deeper honesty with compassion. Includes reflective journaling prompts, IFS-inspired practices, and a free Attachment Healing Integration Journal to help you move through grief, orient…
Why Couples Bicker Over Small Things (Part 3 of 3)—Shifting from Reactivity to Connection

Breaking the cycle of bickering requires awareness, vulnerability, and emotional safety. This article offers practical steps to pause before reacting, express needs without criticism, and build trust through small daily practices. Includes reflective prompts, a free worksheet, and recommended books on emotional neglect and attachment.
Why Couples Bicker Over Small Things (Part 2 of 3)—Stress, Triggers, and Miscommunication

Stress makes couples more reactive and less emotionally attuned, especially when childhood emotional neglect and fearful-avoidant attachment are involved. This article explains how stress hijacks the brain, amplifies misinterpretations, and turns small annoyances into major fights. Includes detailed scenarios showing how stress escalates conflict—and how to shift toward understanding.
Why Couples Bicker Over Small Things (Part 1 of 3)—Unmet Needs Beneath Everyday Conflicts

Many relationship arguments aren’t really about chores, tone of voice, or who’s “doing more.” They’re about unspoken emotional needs shaped by childhood emotional neglect (CEN) and attachment wounds. This article explores why small things feel so big, with detailed examples to help you recognize unmet needs beneath everyday conflicts.
Why Couples Bicker Over Small Things – A Roadmap to Deeper Connection

Why do couples bicker over the smallest things? Beneath everyday arguments lie unmet emotional needs, old patterns, and stress that fuels reactivity. This pillar article introduces a three-part series exploring why conflicts escalate, how to understand the deeper roots, and what it takes to move from bickering to connection.
The Spark Outside Marriage: Understanding Limerence, CEN, and Fearful-Avoidant Patterns (+ Free Guide)

Explore why attraction outside the relationship can feel so intense for women with CEN. Learn to read limerence as a guide, understand unmet needs, and gently nurture your inner life and marriage with IFS prompts, journaling, and self-reflection tools.
Safe in the Age Gap: Gentle Questions to Nurture Yourself and Navigate Parenting Challenges + Free Guide (Part 3 of 3)

Explore gentle questions and a self-parenting ritual designed for survivors of childhood emotional neglect in age-gap relationships. Learn how to navigate parenting challenges, energy mismatches, and deepen connection with compassion and awareness.
Dopamine-Seeking Habits and CEN: Relationship Highs and Emotional Chaos (Part 6 of 6)

Are you drawn to intense love, emotional highs, or the thrill of chasing someone unavailable? This article explores how Childhood Emotional Neglect (CEN) fuels addictive relationship patterns—and how to meet the deeper needs underneath. Includes journal prompts, IFS-inspired reflection, and a free guide to help you find steadier love.
Safe in the Age Gap: How We Make It Work (Part 2 of 3)

A real look at how a 33-year age gap marriage works when both partners carry childhood emotional neglect and attachment wounds — calm, conflict, grief, and love.
Safe in the Age Gap: Why CEN Makes Us Choose Older Partners (Part 1 of 3)

Explore how childhood emotional neglect influences attraction to older partners. Learn to understand your patterns with kindness and begin healing.
Safe in the Age Gap: How Childhood Emotional Neglect Shapes Our Love Lives

Explore how childhood emotional neglect influences attraction to older partners. Learn to see your patterns with kindness and begin healing.
How to Stop the Cycle of Conflict When One Partner Shuts Down and the Other Gets Loud

Do you feel stuck in a cycle of yelling, shutting down, and trying to repair — over and over? This deep dive into the anxious-avoidant dance in relationships helps you understand why it happens, what both partners are missing, and how to gently start healing. With practical examples, scripts, and grounding tools (including free AEDP-inspired…
The Freeze Melts Into Fire: Why Sudden Anger Might Be a Sign of Deep Emotional Healing (+ free journal)

If you’ve been feeling intense anger out of nowhere—snapping at loved ones, overwhelmed by rage—you’re not broken. Learn how unprocessed grief, emotional neglect, and long-buried trauma can turn into explosive anger, and why this can actually be a step toward healing.
When Your Partner Shuts Down: How to Stay Connected Through Exhaustion, Loss, and Silence

Learn how to support a partner whose silent grief shows up as exhaustion. Understand the hidden emotional layers, validate both your needs, and gently reconnect in the midst of shutdown and pain.