Straight Talk On Relationships

STAND BY YOUR MAN…TO DO OR NOT TO DO: SHOULD GOVERNOR ELIOT SPITZER’S WIFE BE STANDING BY HER MAN…LITERALLY?

Another one bites the dust; it seems as though the politicians in this country are dropping like flies.  Whether it’s a heterosexual affair with an intern, a gay affair with another man, or string of sexual indiscretions with prostitutes, things are heating up in the political world. 

Unfortunately it is not only the offending individuals who are paying the price.

The ripple effect of these betrayals is enormous, touching the lives of the spouses, children, colleagues, employees, and our entire political system.  The spouses are devastated, the children ridiculed and teased, employees are forced to clean out their offices while the next political target comes in, and the faith in our Nations’ political system is shaken once again.

The behavior of one, impacts the lives of many... 

CODEPENDENCY AND HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS DO NOT MIX: THE ART OF LETTING GO

People throw around the term codependency all the time; professionals talk about it, lay people wonder about it, and alcoholics and their partners live with it. Few people, however, truly know what it is.

Melody Beattie has an excellent book on codependency titled, Codependent No More. If you’ve ever wondered if you’re codependent or were curious about what codependency is, this is the book for you.

Melody’s definition is: “A codependent person is one who has let another person’s behavior affect him or her, and who is obsessed with controlling that person’s behavior. “

Most codependents who read this definition would likely say they are not codependent. Let me help clarify for a minute. Codependents become highly reactive to the behaviors of others. Codependents are very in tune to the people they care about and are frequently pointing out: what their partner’s doing, what their partner should be doing, why their partner is doing what their doing, how their partner’s behavior is related to their family of origin issues and on and on.

Codependents find it nearly impossible to stay out of their partner’s business. They see better, know better, and are responsible for making their partners better. They are often sure they know the cure for their partner’s ailments and they do anything in their power to change their partners so they can feel more comfortable in the relationship.

DON'T EXPECT YOUR PARTNER TO LOVE YOU UNCONDITIONALLY; UNCONDITIONAL LOVE IS FOR CHILDREN ONLY

I just read a post on another blog about the importance of loving your partner unconditionally. I couldn’t disagree more on this point. The idea that you should love your partner no matter what s/he does to you is absurd and dangerous thinking I believe.

As parents we love are children unconditionally. It’s our job to let them know that they are loved no matter what. We give them as much love, guidance, and limits as we possibly can and we love them always. Ideally our parents gave the same to us so that we could then grow up and take care of ourselves.

In our adult relationships however, the same rules don’t apply. In these relationships we are responsible for taking care of ourselves; we no longer can rely on our parents or others to protect us and keep us safe. We are also responsible for our actions and need to realize that there are consequences for them.

No longer do we have the right to expect unconditional love from our partners. If we treat our partners in hurtful ways, we run the risk of losing them. We do not have the right to have affairs, be dismissive, cold, harsh, controlling, or rageful and then expect our partners to still be there.

CARETAKING AND RELATIONSHIPS: IT’S NOT ALWAYS AS “NICE” AS IT SEEMS

Many women complain about irresponsible, selfish husbands. They even joke about their husband being another child they have to take care of. Some husbands sheepishly grin when they hear their wives say this, while others are offended.

I’m… often curious.

When I hear a woman (note: men also can be in this role) talk about how she’s responsible for: insuring the house is clean; dinner is on the table; all appointments are made and kept; the children are fed, bathed, and finished with their homework; her husband is sexually happy and emotionally taken care of; and on and on…I can’t help but wonder why she is married.

I view marriage as an equal partnership, a place for two loving individuals to come together to co-create a life together. Both partners are equally responsible for being a team player and doing his/her part. Each partner is responsible for getting their needs met within the relationship while also honoring their partner’s needs.

Some people are natural caretakers and enjoy doing a lot for other people. When this is returned, there’s nothing wrong with it. When one person continually does almost everything while their partner does little, however, this is a breeding ground for resentment.

When it doesn’t lead to resentment, there’s often a veil of co-dependence that is clouding the person’s ability to be an equal partner. This is no better than resentment.

EXTREME SELF-CARE…leads to extreme relationship care

Cheryl Richardson talks about the importance of extreme self-care in her book, Take Time For Your Life. Extreme self-care is about putting yourself first, getting off the treadmill of life, and putting the oxygen mask on you before placing it on your partner or children.

This concept is frequently foreign to many people. Women often put their relationships with others before their relationship with themselves. Men often put their work and finances before themselves or their relationships. The result is a lot of people running on an unfulfilling treadmill of obligation, stress and fear.

It’s very difficult to have a healthy relationship with others if we don’t have a healthy relationship with ourselves. This is true on so many levels. If I stay in a relationship that is hurtful to me, that is poor self-care. If I do everything in my family, am resentful about it yet set no limits around it-- that is not good self-care...or family care. If I’m trying to do everything for everyone, chances are I will eventually grow tired, snap at the kids, be cold to my husband and be unfulfilled. This again is poor self-care that results in poor relationship care.

The bottom line is: If I don’t take care of me, or treat myself well, then I cannot expect others to…and neither can you. Good relationships start with you and branch out from there. If your relationships are toxic then perhaps it’s time to look at your self-care muscles and begin to strengthen them.

Challenge: Take time to look at how you’re doing with self-care. Are you taking care of all your needs including: health, emotional, spiritual, relationships, fun/leisure. Choose one area to start with and make a commitment to extreme self-care.