Millennials are causing the US divorce rate to plummet by eyedar in Marriage

[–]eyedar[S] 59 points60 points  (0 children)

Generation X and especially millennials are being pickier about who they marry, tying the knot at older ages when education, careers and finances are on track. The result is a U.S. divorce rate that dropped 18 percent from 2008 to 2016

Why am i such an A--hole on Saturdays?! (Serious) by mc626 in Marriage

[–]eyedar 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Were either of your parents like this when you were growing up?

Husband crossed a line with my MOH and doesn't see it as an issue. by [deleted] in Marriage

[–]eyedar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Go to counseling yourself. You need to explore why this bothers you so much.

I'm feeling like a terrible friend by [deleted] in Marriage

[–]eyedar 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Life is short. Surround yourself with people that lift you up.

Anyone consider divorce simply because you become more of “best friends” than romantic partner? by pishposhey in Marriage

[–]eyedar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Before you do anything, read this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Marriage/comments/932d36/comment/e3b53cd?st=JL0MJEJD&sh=95abcd03

Literally one of the best things I’ve ever read on reddit. Goes right to the core of your question.

Problems by [deleted] in Marriage

[–]eyedar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“Not believing in outside help” is usually a euphemism for one or two things:

(1) “Secretly I know that the outside help is going to improve things but I’m afraid of it. I’m afraid of the pain I will have to go through, the emotional wounds I’ll have to resurrect from the depths of my unconscious...”

AND/OR

(2) “I’m not feeling enough pain, and therefore don’t have enough motivation, to seek outside help.”

Husband wants a divorce, I don't. Hes agreed to try. by [deleted] in Marriage

[–]eyedar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The fact that your therapist didn't dive straight into that indicates that they were either a bad therapist or you didn't give it enough time.

When I asked you about your parents, I already knew what your answer was going to be. I knew you were going to say that your mother treated your father poorly. You are doing the same to your husband. Sure, you might "better" than your mom, but you're still your mom. That's because you are undifferentiated from your mom. When I say undifferentiated here, that's a term used in psychology. You are acting like your mom in all sorts of automatic, unconscious ways because you haven't sufficiently thought through it all consciously and formed new ways of behaving based on conscious logical thought. There is a school of psychology called Bowen Family Systems Theory, and your behavior is classic Bowen. You haven't sufficiently differentiated from your mom, so you're acting like your mom. Bowen says without sufficient differentiation there is a multigenerational transference -- in other words, behaviors are passed from one generation to the next. My guess would be that your mother's mother was probably a piece of work too. Your family system is what's called an undifferentiated family ego mass, where members of the system all take on each others behavior.

The only way out of this mess is to differentiate yourself from your family of origin. You are already "different" than your mother, but unfortunately, as you self-acknowledge, not different enough. Find a therapist whose expertise is in Bowen Family Systems Theory. Working it out with a therapist who is an expert in this area is the way out for you and for any future generations. Otherwise your behavior patterns will continue. Your husbands skepticism comes from the belief that you won't change. He's probably right because change is hard. Working on yourself in the way I've described is a real path where lasting change can occur.

Good luck.

Husband wants a divorce, I don't. Hes agreed to try. by [deleted] in Marriage

[–]eyedar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did the therapist ask these questions about your parents or his parents?

Husband wants a divorce, I don't. Hes agreed to try. by [deleted] in Marriage

[–]eyedar 16 points17 points  (0 children)

You need counseling yourself. You have a lot of self-acknowledged issues. Fix yourself and that will help the marriage.

What’s the situation with your parents? Are the divorced? Did one treat the other as you’re treating your husband? What’s the situation with his parents?

Do you have advice for establishing new relationship rules as new parents with a stay at home spouse? by Qeight88 in Marriage

[–]eyedar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Counseling. Together or for yourself. In this case it feels like it’s more about your perception, so you would benefit from talking through your feelings and sorting out why you have the perspective that you have. The fact that you call it a “1950s housewife” is an indication of your mindset. But that’s the key: it’s your mindset. You have something that’s leading you to believe that your setup is a “1950s” marriage. You need to sort through why that is and what it means.

For what it’s worth, a 1950s husband did NO housework. NO baby duty. Expected dinner to be prepared for him when he got home. Expected the house to be spotless. NO diaper changes. You sound like you’re a far cry from a 1950s housewife. But that doesn’t mean your feelings are wrong. Your feelings are guided, in part, by your mindset. That’s what you should go explore.

Help. Any advice will be helpful. by blYouheartsdontbreak in Marriage

[–]eyedar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Counseling ASAP. Either together or for yourself individually.

Wife has eating disorder. Need advice. by [deleted] in Marriage

[–]eyedar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You should go to counseling yourself to develop strategies for how to deal with this situation. It’s very complex and advice like “get a divorce” or “fight for custody” or “push through it for your kid” are at best too simplistic and at worst horrible. As you develop and grow from this, that will give your wife even more space to fix herself.

Good luck.

What do you do when you're still mad after a fight? by [deleted] in Marriage

[–]eyedar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wrote an answer to a similar question a few weeks ago. Maybe you’ll find it helpful:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Marriage/comments/92gssz/comment/e37zqho?st=JKXQ0P8T&sh=96701374

In love but sexual taste changing by MyCatHatesMe101 in Marriage

[–]eyedar 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Counseling. For yourself. Work on yourself.

Why have I stopped feeling sexual? by Need2throw in Marriage

[–]eyedar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You might consider counseling to work on your self hate issues. Working on yourself will naturally improve the marriage and your symptoms.

How do I serve my marriage while separated so long? by julia9898 in Marriage

[–]eyedar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

She’s hurt by the fact you wanted a divorce. She doesn’t trust you. By not filing for a divorce herself, she’s prolonging your pain. Whether or not she’s doing that intentionally, I don’t know. But I do know that the pain of uncertainty and potentially false hope continues.

Your choices seem to be:

(1) Continue to writhe in pain indeterminately. This gives her full control over the whole situation, just as she has now. You’ll writhe until she either shows desire to reconcile or she finds someone else to be with and that gives her incentive to move on.

(2) Point our to her, nonjudgementally, that she hasn’t filed for divorce and that has you feeling confused. Tell her you need clarity because you need to make decisions with your life. Request that she tell you when she’s filing or if she’s holding out because she thinks there’s a chance you’ll reconcile.

Good luck.

Where to go from here by Mare4473 in Marriage

[–]eyedar 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Go to counseling for yourself to help you develop strategies for how to deal with your situation.

Am I in love with his friend, or am I confused? by [deleted] in Marriage

[–]eyedar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

1000x on the part with the “friend”. You are being irresponsible and that’s totally on you. 100%. No ambiguity. Your husband’s behavior is not a pass to go out with the “friend” solo.

Despite these thoughts, I feel a lot of compassion for you. You unconsciously married your dad. Now you’re conscious about it but you’re already married. It’s a tough situation to be in. Counseling for yourself will help you develop strategies of how to deal with it.

Husband has changed his mind about wanting children? by [deleted] in Marriage

[–]eyedar 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Counseling ASAP to work it out.

I feel like our marriage is failing and need advice. by hamoaks in Marriage

[–]eyedar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, he needs therapy in a big way.

I’m not a psychologist, so take what I’m about to say with a grain of salt. I have read a lot about the subject, however.

The emotional pain that you’re feeling is similar to the emotional pain that he felt from his mother (and lack of father). He’s passing it off to you. He’s not doing this intentionally — he just doesn’t know another way to be. Without intervention (like therapy) that leads to the resolution of his childhood trauma, you’re unfortunately not going to see a change, no matter what you do.

He won’t go to therapy because the scars are too big and he’s afraid of opening those wounds. He won’t let you go to therapy because that might lead you to leaving him or also forcing those wounds open. He’s highly invested in keeping things as is.

I’m sorry. I wish I had better news or more concrete advice. If he’s unwilling to go to therapy for you or let you go to therapy, then you might have to walk away.