All Posts By

Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott

Nov 03
Love0

Help! My Spouse Cheated On Me. That Means They’ll Do It Again, Right?

By Marriage, Self Reflection 4 Comments

If your spouse has cheated on you, then you’ve likely heard the phrase, “Once a cheater, always a cheater.” But is that sentiment always true? You may be surrounded by people who have your best interests at heart, feel hurt by what your spouse has done, and want to help protect you from future repetition of the same harm. And while there may be merit to the statement–and in some situations, there is–it’s important to look at your individual circumstances objectively first. Affairs are incredibly painful situations that cause deep pain and damage to marriages. The ability to recover from…

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Oct 27
Love0

3 Strategies For Successfully Managing Anger in Marriage

By Conflict One Comment

Marriage typically tends to produce more anger than other relationships. Perhaps this is because spending so much time with another person naturally generates more opportunities to become angry. We also put down our guard with our spouse — the person we love most. While being vulnerable and unguarded allows for greater intimacy, it also opens the door to more anger and frustration. Although every married couple will experience anger toward one another, it should still be kept in check. After all, how we manage our emotions directly affects our relationships, particularly the closest ones. Add disappointment, unmet expectations, and other…

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Oct 20
Love0

Does Keeping Secrets Make A Marriage Unhealthy?

By Communication, Conflict 6 Comments

Does keeping secrets in marriage make it inherently unhealthy? Over our years of marriage, and our years counseling married and engaged couples, we’ve found the answer to be both nuanced and subjective. The truth is, the idea that a couple should never keep secrets sounds and feels good at the surface level–but can a marriage really handle an overflow of transparency at all times? Many of us grew up believing that there are no secrets in a healthy marriage. We come to believe that spouses should tell one another everything, no matter what–hiding no details and laying everything out in…

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Oct 13
Love0

One Important Thing Healthy Married Couples Seek

By Marriage 3 Comments

In healthy marriages, there’s one important thing that spouses consistently seek. This perspective positively impacts the tone of every interaction in their relationship. When a couple pursues this in their marriage, it can make a tremendous difference in their dynamic over the years. So what are these healthy couples doing to help keep their marriages happy and harmonious? They’re consistently looking for the good in one another. Look for the Good in One Another Couples who want to develop a healthier, more positive relationship put effort into seeking one another’s good qualities. Looking for the best qualities in your spouse…

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Oct 06
Love0

How to Embrace a New Season in Your Marriage

By Marriage 3 Comments

Every couple experiences many seasons of life over the course of their marriage. All these seasons can be related to stages of life, major changes, challenges, stress, loss, abundance, and even the natural cycles that we experience throughout the year. When our marriages enter a new season, we must be able to embrace it in order to continue moving forward together in a healthy way. In this post, we’re going to share a few ways that you can embrace a new season in your marriage. Let’s read on to learn how. 1. Honor the past, but leave it behind. Often,…

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Sep 29
Love0

3 Ways to Reignite Your Sex Life for More Intimacy and Fun

By Intimacy 2 Comments

Most married couples will experience challenges to their intimacy from time to time. Whether difficult circumstances or busy routines are putting a damper on your alone time, it’s common to have ebbs and flows in your sex life. The key to overcoming intimacy challenges is to intentionally spend time getting closer. Want to reignite your sex life with your spouse for more intimacy and fun? In this post, we’ll explore a few ways you can do just that. Let’s dive right in. 1. Do an intimacy check-in with your spouse. Occasionally, have a check-in with your spouse to gauge both…

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Sep 22
Love1

Critical Tips for Overcoming Fear in Marriage and Life

By Marriage, Self Reflection No Comments

Fear sabotages the best of intentions. It can infiltrate marriages and relationships, keep you from achieving your goals, and silence good people who might otherwise speak up in the face of adversity. In order to live up to your full potential, and to make your life and marriage the best they can be, then it’s essential to overcome fear. Wondering where to begin? We’ve gathered a few tips to help bolster your courage. 1. Do the right thing in spite of your fear. Oftentimes, overcoming fear means doing the right thing even when you’re afraid to. This works more easily…

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Sep 15
Love0

How to Give Your Marriage an Attitude Adjustment

By Marriage No Comments

The attitudes you and your spouse hold toward different circumstances will affect your marriage in a myriad of ways. Good, bad, or clashing attitudes set the stage for how you’ll work together to tackle a problem–or not. That’s why it becomes essential to give your marriage an attitude adjustment from time to time. It’s a good idea to check in on your attitudes from time to time, and from one situation to the next. The way you look at and approach challenges is largely defined by your attitude toward them. If you want to succeed as a couple, then you’ll…

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Sep 08
Love0

6 Tips for Getting Control of Your Anger During a Conflict

By Conflict No Comments

You’re in the middle of an argument with your spouse, and emotions are running high. You’re feeling angry and tempted to lash out at your spouse in order to get your voice heard. Over the course of the argument, you become increasingly frustrated, but you want to keep your anger under control. However, that’s getting more and more difficult by the minute. So how do we get control of our anger when we’re in a heated discussion, or even a fight, with our husband or wife? Read on to learn how. 1. Slow down. Don’t let your anger run away…

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Sep 01
Love1

How to Level Up the Communication in Your Marriage

By Communication 2 Comments

Communication is paramount in any relationship, but especially in marriage. If you’re striving for lifelong love with your spouse, then the two of you will have to master the art of effective communication. You can come out on the other side of almost any marital problem if you have mastered the skills for effective communication. While we communicate at different levels, it’s most important to communicate from the standpoint of protecting and nurturing one another’s feelings. If you’re ready to level up your communication with your spouse, read on. Create a sense of emotional safety. Emotional safety is critical for…

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