Ask the Expert Series: Surprising Ways to Make Your Relationship Better

Hi Nadeesha, sexual intimacy is crucial for couples and i think open communication about your sexual needs and his sexual activity with you is not very pleasant. He doesnt know what he dont know. I would also want to maybe give him some suggestion on how to satisfy your sexual needs because he may or may not have an exposure to sex knowledge. Hope this helps!

Hi Nadeesha, as a mom as well as a therapist, i think its quite normal to feel like a roller coaster during our pregnancy due to the hormonal changes in the body. But, it will always be better for you to check with your gynae on this so she can also assists you if any supplement is needed to better improve your emotional health. In my experience, yes it will get better as both parents get adjusted to this new parent role.

Hi, i think your friend need to reach out for professional help. When argument that ends up so escalated, there are usually root cause to an escalated argument and what causes them to have anger outburst so publicly. As a couple therapist, we usually look for patterns in their communication that doesnt work to identify what causing the stress in their relationship. Hence i would suggest for them to look for a professional couple therapist who is able to help their relationship. Hope this helps!

Hi Teena, i would say maybe you can let him know how does his forgetfulness about special days makes you feel and get him to think of workable solution to assists him with the forgetfulness. He is not here so i won't be able to identify whether is a personality thing or is it just a habit. I think he needs to know what action that he does that doesnt help your marriage.

Hi, yes definitely. Having awareness about the hormonal changes in the body is key. Letting out this annoyance inside you is very important, when we kept it within us it will be unhealthy. Maybe find ways to channel this annoyance by maybe talking to someone that is neutral, or you can also do mind dump activity to take this annoyance out of your body system. Also, you can identify things that makes you happy, doing more self-care activity will help to improve your mood and therefore it will help you to improve your mood overall. Hope this is helpful!

Hi, yes pornography addiction will affect the dynamics at home. I would recommend your husband to seek professional help to manage his porn addictions.

Hi, i think is very subjective for everyone. In generally, maybe you can take a very honest evaluation of your emotions and your mental state when you are in the relationship. If you were to put yourself in a scale of 0-10 where will you place your happiness in this relationship? If 5 is non-existence, what number would you put on that scale and list the whys. To also clarify, most relationships will have conflict in fact, conflict handled well will improve the relationship. However, if you feel the relationship is very toxic and weighing you down each time then probably it is a sign to show you that this may not a good relationship to stay on.

Hi Anne, i would say yes and no. It also depends on what are the small things that he is hiding. In general, we can't blanket and judge a person's behaviour just by the few mistakes that he made. i think whats more crucial will be to find out why and what is the cause of hiding from you. Some suggestions for you, maybe try exploring why does he hides small things from you and are they any fears around letting know you the things that he probably would avoid letting you know because he didnt want to disappoint or hurt you? Open and direct communication in a right mood for both of you is always a good start to be discover and understand one another. Hope this helps!

Hi Ryan, that's very sweet of you. I would say answering her love language and filling up her love tank can bring the relationship a long way. Do you know her love language and how often are filling up her love tank? This probably could be a clue to help you improve your relationship with your wife. https://5lovelanguages.com/quizzes/love-language Here's a link to love language quizzes that both you and your wife can take to improve your relationship. All the best Ryan!

Hi, in my opinion, i would say to communicate this to your partner assertively. For example, you can let him know what he do/does that makes you feel disrespected and if possible you can also let him/ her know how (very specifically) you would prefer to be respected. Hope this helps!