source:psychcentralbyMarciaNaomiBerger,MSW,LCSW 欲翻译的小伙伴,可评论领稿,并把已完成的译文贴在评论处或发在自己的心理圈内。谢谢 Ifyourpartnersays,Wehaveaproblem,doesyourchesttighten?Doyouforgettobreathe?Whatgoesthroughyourmind?Aproblem!Aggh!Doesthatmeanhe(orshe)willleaveme?Isourrelationshipdoomed?Doyouimaginethatsomethingisterriblywrongwiththetwoofyouasacoupleandmaybeimpossibletofix?Ifthissoundslikeyou,youareprobablybeingdupedbyaharmfulmarriagemyth:Agoodmarriagehasnoproblems。 Conflictexistsinanymarriage。Ourchallengeistodealwithdifferencesconstructively。 Whetherbecauseofthefairytaleswegrewupwithorbecauseschoolsteachvirtuallynothingabouttherealitiesofmarriage,manypeoplethinkthatinagoodmarriageacoupleisnotsupposedtohaveanyproblems。Theywillpretendallisrosyuntilthestressofkeepingtheirfeelingsinsidebuildstothepointwhereitcomesoutharmfully。 Hereareafewsignsthatmayindicateyouareignoringarelationshipissue:Yoursexlifeisnotgood。Yourchildistooquietortooaggressive。Youthinkyourpartnerdoesn’tloveyou。Oneofyouisdepressed,angry,orjumpy。Youoryourpartnerisdrinking,eating,orgamblingexcessively。 Eachofushaswantsandneedswhichdon’talwaysmeshwiththoseofourmate。Whenwetrytoignorewhatkeepsusupsetfortoolong,itcaneruptlikeavolcano。Yourparticularchallengemayconcernintimacy,parenting,sex,money,inlaws,work,orsomethingelse。Donotwaittodealwithanythingthatputsyourrelationshipatrisk。 Marriagemeetings,asdescribedstepbystepinmybook,MarriageMeetingsforLastingLove,provideasafe,suretimeforagentle,looselystructuredconversationduringwhichyoubothgettotalkaboutwhat’sonyourminds。Yougettoreconnectwitheachotherlovingly,tonurtureyourselvesandyourrelationship。Youmaintainthegoodfeelingsbydealingwithsmallissuesbeforetheygrowintobigones。 ThePotentialforConflictExistsEverywhere MarriageandrelationshipeducatorEllenKreidman,PhD,givesasimpleexampletoshowthatpotentialforconflictexistsinanymarriage。Shestatesthatinthebathroomonespousewantsthetoiletpapertounrollfromthetop;theotherwantsittounrollfromthebottom。Oneleavesthetoiletseatup;theotherwantsitdown;onelikesasparklingcleansink;theotherleaveshairsorspecksofmakeupinit。Onelikesthedooropen;theotherinsistsonprivacy,andsoon。Ifyou’rethinkingseparatebathrooms,I’mwithyou!Butthatisnotalwayspossible。Still,bybeingcreativeandresourceful,youcanoftencomeupwithwaystolessenannoyances。 TheRiskofConcealingDifferences LillyandJonathanillustratethedangeroftakingtoolongtoidentifyanddealwithasensitiveissue。Stillchildlessaftereightyearsofmarriage,theyfinallyadoptedababygirl。WhenLillyfirstmetJonathan,sheadmiredhistakechargemanner。Shefeltprotectedbyhim。Softspokenanddiplomatic,sheacquiescedtohimonmostmatters。Lilly’sparentshadfoughtalotandeventuallydivorced。Shedidn’twantthistohappentoher。Shebelieveditwasimportanttogoalongwithherhusbandonmostmattersinordertokeepthepeace。 Beforetheybecameparents,JonathanencouragedLillytogiveuphercareerasahospitalnursetostayhomewiththeirchildatleastuntilkindergarten。Lillythoughtthiswasasmallpricetopayforrealizingherdreamofmotherhood。Shesquelchedherdoubtsaboutgivinguptheworksheloved。Shetoldherselfthatdoingwhatherhusbandwantedwastherightthingtodo。 Aftertwoyearsathome,Lillythoughtshewouldlosehermind。Shelovedherlittlegirl,butshesorelymissedthehustleandbustleofherhospitalwork,interactingwithcolleagues,andcaringforpatients。Shealsomissedthesalary,whichshehadbeenfreetospendasshechose。NowwhenJonathanobjectedtoasmallpurchaseshemade,hejustifiedhisstancebysaying,I’mthebreadwinner。Lillyfeltherchesttightenatsuchtimes。Wantingtokeepthepeace,shewouldsay,I’lltakeitback。 LillyPretendsAllisWelluntilitistooLate Inpublic,Lillyplayedthepartofasmiling,contentedwifeandmother。Privately,shebegantofeeldistantfromherhusband。Shelostinterestinsex。Sheresentedhimbutsaidnothing。ShefeltignoredandinvisibleuntilsheservedastunnedJonathanwithdivorcepapers。 IsJonathanavillain?Lillyhadsharednoneofherfrustrationwithhim。ShouldJonathanhavereadhermind?Eitherpartnermighthavesavedtheirmarriagebyinitiatinganhonestconversation。Jonathancouldhaveaskedhiswifewhethersomethingotherthanherheadacheswascausinghertowithdrawsexually。Shecouldhavetoldhimaboutherunhappinessandsaidwhatshereallywanted,evenifshefeltselfishorguilty。 Thiscouplemightthenhavefoundwaystocompromise,perhapsbyagreeingthatshewouldreturntoworkparttime。LillymighthavesuggestedtoJonathanthatitwouldbefairforeachofthemtohaveacertainamountofmoneytospendwithnoquestionsasked,regardlessofwhoearnedit。Bytalkingitoutwithhonestyandmutualrespect,theymightwellhavecreatedawayforpracticalsolutionstoemerge,fortrusttogrow,andforthereturnofemotionalandphysicalintimacy。 Allintimaterelationshipshaveissues。Dealwiththemconstructively,andyouwillgrowpersonallyandstrengthenyourbond。Byadaptingamorerealisticviewpointaboutmarriageyouwillbeabletouseeffectivetechniquesforcreatingaunionthatfulfillsyouemotionallyandspirituallyaswellasphysicallyandmaterially。