Will This Fix Our Marriage?

Few people want to get divorced. At least, when marital challenges like communication differences or conflicting needs enter the picture, most people do not automatically jump to divorce as a solution. Most couples facing marital challenges want to overcome these challenges and fix their marriages. Successfully determining how to overcome those challenges is where many couples ultimately fail and choose to divorce.

If you feel your marriage is in jeopardy, do not keep your feelings to yourself. First, talk to your spouse about your feelings. Then, work together to find help.

Strategies for Overcoming Challenges in your Marriage

For many couples, the first step in overcoming marital challenges is to work with an experienced marital counselor. In counseling, each partner can individually discuss his or her concerns and challenges with the relationship. The counselor works with the couple to explore the deeper issues at play and develop strategies for coping with them.

Marital counseling only works when both partners are willing to put in the effort to solve their difficulties. Counselors often assign their patients “homework,” behavioral exercises to try during their time between sessions and then report back to the counselor about.

A marital counselor can help couples with the following difficulties that can erode relationships:

• Making decisions together;
• Expressing concerns constructively;
• Working through their personal difficulties to become better partners; and
• Learning the “right way” to fight when disagreements arise.

Quick Fixes that Ultimately Do Not Work

Many couples make misguided choices in an effort to save their marriages. In the best of these scenarios, the couple experiences a short-term boost of satisfaction followed by returning to the same, unhappy state they were in prior. In the worst of these scenarios, the couple makes life more difficult for themselves and their children, driving them to divorce faster from the stress.

A few actions that you cannot count on to repair your marriage include:

• A new environment can be nice and reduce your stress in the short term, but it will not fix the communication difficulties, differing needs, or resentment in your marriage;
• Having a baby. A new baby is challenging and often, only exacerbates relationship conflicts a couple already experiences; and
• Opening your relationship. Unless both partners truly want an open relationship and are emotionally prepared for this shift, becoming non-monogamous will not bring a couple closer together.

Work with an Experienced Tampa Divorce Lawyer

If you recognize that your marriage is in trouble, talk to your spouse about your concerns. The only way to overcome the challenges you face as a married couple is to work together to resolve them – neither you nor your spouse can “save” the marriage alone. Some challenges are too severe for a couple to overcome, and when your marriage faces a challenge of this magnitude, divorce could be the best option. Contact our team of Tampa divorce lawyers at Bubley & Bubley, P.A. to set up a consultation with us.

Resource:

psychologytoday.com/us/blog/resolution-not-conflict/201303/marriage-problems-heres-8-step-rescue-plan