Difficult Relationships / Rod E. Smith

Lizz,
There are a whole range of responses that men have to women being pregnant and giving birth. Difficult though it is for me to understand, I’m aware that a significant number of men find pregnant women to be unusually attractive, even to the point of becoming fantasy objects. Likewise, some men see mothers as more [...]

Filed under: Communication, Difficult Relationships, Disrespect, Divorce, Double standards, Penis propelled, Personal contact, Personal growth, Pornography, Rage, Re-marriage | Tagged: pregnancy | No Comments »

Are you emotionally out of shape? Psychologically exhausted? Tramped on? Feel trapped? Just as a person can be physically run down, so also can one become emotionally depleted. Here are simple, not easy, steps to getting your internal life into shape. Each will do your internal life as much good as frequent exercise does for [...]

Filed under: Alcoholism, Anger, Authentic love, Betrayal, Boundaries, Cheating, Children, Coaching, Communication, Community, Control issues, Dads, Differentiation, Difficult Relationships, Disrespect, Divorce, Domination, Double standards, Family, First date, Flirting, Forgiveness, Friendship, Growing up, Happiness, High maintenance relationships, Intimidation, Jealousy, Listening, Living together, Long distance relationships, Marriage, Marriage and in-laws, Meditation, Parenting/Children, Past relationships, Personal growth, Pornography, Re-marriage, Reactivity, Recovery, Relationships, Sexual abuse, Sexual compatibility, Toxic Relationships, Victims, Violence, Voice | Tagged: , drink, drunk, emotional, exhausted, help, Marriage, remarriage, tired | 7 Comments »

Unhealthy patterns occur in relationships when a person …

Does not sufficiently, or successfully, sever and recover from a previous romantic relationship before a new one begins. (Commonly referred to as “rebounding.”)
Embraces a false, or faulty, definition of love.
Gives the relationship an inordinate amount of attention. (This is seen when someone seems to disappear – becomes [...]

Filed under: Affairs, Anger, Anxiety, Attraction, Authentic love, Betrayal, Boundaries, Cheating, Communication, Community, Compatibility, Control issues, Differentiation, Divorce, Domination, Forgiveness, High maintenance relationships, Intimidation, Jealousy, Listening, Long distance relationships, Penis propelled, Personal contact, Pornography, Sex education, Sex matters, Sexual compatibility, Single parenting, Space, Spousal abuse, Therapeutic Process, Toxic Relationships, Victims, Violence, Voice | 1 Comment »

Reader Writes: “I don’t believe my spouse had a sexual affair, but he definitely was too involved with a female coworker. I just found out that they have been talking on the phone for the past 16 months (January 05 to May 06) behind my back. They talked every morning and two and three times [...]

Filed under: Abuse, Affairs, Anger, Attraction, Authentic love, Betrayal, Cheating, Communication, Compatibility, Control issues, Disrespect, Divorce, Double standards, Family, High maintenance relationships, Home, Intimidation, Jealousy, Listening, Manipulation, Marriage, Past relationships, Pornography, Re-marriage, Relationships, Space, Spousal abuse, Toxic Relationships, Triggers, Trust, Victims, Violence, Voice | 2 Comments »

I am 23. My boyfriend (32) wants me to watch pornography with him. It is very uncomfortable for me. He insists, and I feel pressure to give in. He says it is “normal” and that his previous girlfriend did it all the time. (Letter edited)
Response: Always refuse sexual behavior you don’t want. As adults [...]

Filed under: Abuse, Pornography | 2 Comments »

Reader’s Question: My boyfriend says we have to have sex to see if we are sexually compatible before he will continue seeing me. What do you think?
Rod’s Answer: What an old and ridiculous line. Move on! Your boyfriend is what I call a “pp” or “penis propelled.” If you really want to assess sexual [...]

Filed under: Abuse, Affairs, Attraction, Authentic love, Betrayal, Communication, Compatibility, Dating, Disrespect, Family, First date, Flirting, High maintenance relationships, Interpersonal intimacy, Listening, Long distance relationships, Past relationships, Penis propelled, Personal contact, Personal growth, Pornography, Re-marriage, Second marriages, Sex education, Sex matters, Sexual abuse, Sexual compatibility, Space, Toxic Relationships, Victims, Violence, Voice, Weddings, Young Love | 4 Comments »

1. Be the first to talk to your child about sex. Do not leave this facet of your child’s life in the hands of the school, Hollywood, television, church, or other children. Your avoidance of this topic, when it is so prevalent in the culture, sends your child a confusing message.
2. Rather than wait for [...]

Filed under: Adolescence, Parenting/Children, Pornography, Relationships, Sex education, Sex matters, Single parenting, Teenagers | 5 Comments »

“I found graphic pornography in my fifteen-year-old son’s bedroom. My husband and I want to handle this in a positive way. We have never been open to talking to him about sex.”
Together, as husband and wife, tell your son that you have found pornography in his room. Gently, and with kindness, tell him that [...]

Filed under: Communication, Pornography, Sex matters, Teenagers | No Comments »