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Is your marriage built on an unhealthy foundation of substance abuse and false feelings?

Maybe you met your partner at a bar. Things went well, the alcohol helped to take off the nervous edge and before you knew it you were both head over heels in love.

Throughout dating and even into marriage substances were always around to take off the edge and increase your confidence. It wasn’t long before the euphoric feelings of the substance were so closely mixed with your feeling towards your spouse that it was nearly impossible to separate the two.

“If you think about the social gatherings of our society most of them have some sort of drinking component to them. Dancing, going to dinner, bowling or going to a baseball game or sporting event…even movie theaters are selling micro brews…it seems like everything you do has a drinking component to it,” says Dr. Metz.

What does this say about the strength and resiliency of these marriages? Is it possible to take the substances away and have the relationship survive? Diving head first into this controversial topic is Dr. Kevin Metz.

Dr. Metz earned his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from California School of Professional Psychology and his undergraduate degree is from UNC Chapel Hill. Dr. Metz  is in private practice, working with Lepage Associates in Durham, NC.

To find out more about Dr. Kevin Metz and Lepage Associates, you can visit them online or call 919.572.0000 for an appointment.

How far will you go to please your partner?

No one likes peering into a schoolyard and seeing a bully. Bullies are mean and manipulative, but they exist. What many people don’t know is the secret ingredient that gives bullies power. It’s submission. It’s very hard to have someone push you around if that is something that you are unwilling accept. It’s time to be heard and start speaking up for what you want.

Many marriages are filled with “people pleasers”. These are the people that will do anything for their spouse, should they ask. Whether it be picking up milk on the way home or climbing Mount Everest. While many people don’t like bullies, people pleasers are the ones who break up marriages. Is your eagerness to please splitting your marriage apart?

Dr. Julia Messer is a former high school English teacher turned Psychologist. Attending West Virginia University she received her Master’s and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Julia is one of those people that has really seen and done it all. Since graduating Julia has worked as a psychology teacher at UNC Chapel Hill, in a psychiatric hospital, within the criminal court system, and even in a forensic setting. Dr. Messer currently practices at Orenstein Solutions in Cary, NC, specializing in areas of anger management, substance abuse, depression and anxiety. To find out more about Dr. Julia Messer and Orenstein Solutions visit them online or call 919-428-2766 for an appointment.

If your partner left you tomorrow, could you survive the betrayal?

When we were in school we had teachers who sat us down every day, year after year, and passed along piece after piece of information for us to retain and use as functioning adults.

Well, that was then and this is now. Who is there to teach us the life lessons we need as adults? Who is there to be our teacher when it feels like our entire world is crashing down around us?

Some form of intimate betrayal is a common fear among couples. From those who cause the pain to those on the receiving end, couples are unsure of how to battle the betrayal and come out on top.

 Kathy Cato is educated in Marriage and Family Counseling and has a private practice, TriVista Counseling, in Raleigh, NC. Kathy is trained in the Imago and Gottman methods of couples counseling and is founder of the Holding Hands Program, a counselor-hosted meeting series that works to resolve problems and strengthen relationships through open communication and integrates individualized online assessments of each couple. Kathy has helped hundreds of couples work through betrayal in their marriages. In this episode, Kathy will share her ideas about betrayal and whether it can be overcome.

To find out more about Kathy Cato, visit TriVista Counseling online or call 919-710-7145 for an appointment.