Grief Shaming: The Latest Form of Bereavement Judgment

Blame it on the ability to remain anonymous, on people who have very small lives or a combination thereof. In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in varying sorts of public “shaming”  – weight shaming (be it “over” or “under”); height shaming, financial shaming, social status shaming, a certain kind of shaming that… Continue reading Grief Shaming: The Latest Form of Bereavement Judgment

4 Tips To Help Couples Keep The Peace About Money

Money may not have the power to buy happiness, but it sure can stress us out. In fact, a survey by the American Psychological Association pinpointed money as the leading cause of stress for Americans, with 72 percent saying they had felt at least some stress about money in the previous month. What’s more, about… Continue reading 4 Tips To Help Couples Keep The Peace About Money

4 Ways To Fortify Your Marital Bonds

Marriage is a complex, ever-evolving relationship that challenges partners to remain active in their efforts to maintain the relationship. While the components of a healthy relationship – passion, commitment and intimacy – may seem abstract, I have found specific actions through my practice as a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist that couples can do… Continue reading 4 Ways To Fortify Your Marital Bonds

Stress Can Stop Men From Giving Emotional Support

Stress may stop men from providing as much emotional support as women, researchers say. A study by an international team of psychologists, published in the journal Psychological Science, found that men and women who aren’t stressed out both provide strong support to their partners. But when under stress, women do a better job than men… Continue reading Stress Can Stop Men From Giving Emotional Support

Divorce And How It Can Affect Your Retirement Money

It’s the unthinkable that no aging person wants to face: divorce.  The impact is huge on every aspect of your life, especially financially and the role it can play in planning for retirement. Certified Financial Planners Gary Plessl and Kevin Houser, authors of The Book on Retirement: Are You Ready for The Second Half of… Continue reading Divorce And How It Can Affect Your Retirement Money

Feeling Romantic? Send An Email

If you want to show someone you’re romantically interested in them, send an email – and don’t leave a voicemail. The finding, by researchers from Indiana University, contradicts previous research that said a voicemail is a more intimate way to connect with someone. The study will be published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior.… Continue reading Feeling Romantic? Send An Email

Is Chronic Complaining Wrecking Your Relationship?

We all have bad days, and we often lean on the person we love most for support during tough times. But if your long-term partner (or you) complains too regularly, it can kill the intimacy and threaten the stability of your relationship. “A chronic complainer can cause his/her partner to lose compassion and shut down… Continue reading Is Chronic Complaining Wrecking Your Relationship?

Why I Became A Vegetarian

Like most women of my generation, I was raised on Sunday dinners of either roast beef or roast chicken with thick gravy poured over mashed potatoes.  During the week our dinners consisted of pork chops, meatloaf, beef stew, chicken soup, and pork goulash, to name a few.  But now that I’m vegetarian, I shudder to… Continue reading Why I Became A Vegetarian

Dating in The Age of The Selfie

All the good ones are taken … I’m too old to feel THAT way again … I don’t look as good as I used to … I haven’t accomplished enough at my age … I don’t even know how to flirt anymore … For older singles hungry for partnership, these common worries can prevent taking… Continue reading Dating in The Age of The Selfie

Spouses of Stroke Survivors Face Lingering Health Issues

Caregiver spouses of stroke survivors are at an increased risk of mental and physical health issues that may continue for years, according to research published in August 2015 in the American Heart Association journal Stroke. A release from the association notes that Swedish researchers evaluated 248 stroke survivors below age 70 (average mid-sixties), and their… Continue reading Spouses of Stroke Survivors Face Lingering Health Issues

How to Heal a Broken Heart

The scars of a broken heart can leave us severely wounded. Who hasn’t experienced or witnessed this happen to a relative or close friend? But a recent study by the University of Arizona and Northwestern University shows there is an effective path to recovery. Researchers demonstrated that the trial group that spent time assessing their… Continue reading How to Heal a Broken Heart

Jet-Set Lifestyle Isn’t So Great

We might think of experienced travelers as happy people, but in fact, researchers found, there are a few drawbacks to traveling frequently: jet-lag, deep vein thrombosis and radiation exposure. Not to mention stress and loneliness. Researchers from the University of Surrey and Lund University (Sweden) also found that the real problems differed sharply from the… Continue reading Jet-Set Lifestyle Isn’t So Great

Coping Strategies for Breaking Up

Neil Sedaka crooned about the end of relationships in 1962 with his hit, “Breaking Up is Hard to Do.” Google almost any word that deals with terminating a relationship and over three-hundred million responses are returned in .64 seconds. Breaking up is something that happens to everyone sooner or later.  Even the best of relationships… Continue reading Coping Strategies for Breaking Up

Moving On

It was just about a year ago when I said to my husband, “I don’t want our next move to be into assisted living.” He laughed. I was serious. For some time I felt we had entered a period of stagnation. I was painfully aware of my husband’s unhappiness in his job; after 15 years… Continue reading Moving On

3 Ways to Overcome the Hurt of Cheating

Gay Hendricks, Ph.D., and Kathlyn Hendricks, Ph.D., have been married (and are still in love) after 35 years. As founders of the Hendricks Institute, in Ojai, California, and authors of the new book Conscious Loving Ever After, they have developed research-backed strategies for recovering from the hurt and bitterness caused by infidelity and for deepening… Continue reading 3 Ways to Overcome the Hurt of Cheating

Tips for Cell Phone Courtesy Month, July 2015

The cell phone is one of the greatest inventions of our time, but as the cell phone has evolved into the smartphone, it’s also one of the greatest distractions. July is National Cell Phone Courtesy Month, an event founded by author and etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore in 2002 with the intent of making cell phone… Continue reading Tips for Cell Phone Courtesy Month, July 2015

What Drives Us to Help Others?

Most people would not hesitate to help an older or disabled person cross the street. The term for this type of action is “prosocial behavior”, which is different from altruism. The latter involves a sacrifice or a cost to the helper. Dr. Cristina Márquez conducted a study led by Dr. Marta Moita from the Behavioral… Continue reading What Drives Us to Help Others?

Older Couples and Quality of Life

  Older adults’ quality of life is linked with the health and cognitive functioning of their spouse, according to new research. The conclusion came from University of Arizona researchers who looked at data from more than 8,000 married couples, with an average age in the early 60s. The investigators said that the findings have implications… Continue reading Older Couples and Quality of Life