The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

A relationship strengthening guide for intimate connections By: Dwight Bain LMHC  Can a stuffed animal with a romantic message solve a relationship problem? Nope. Neither can a trip to the jewelry store, boxes of chocolate, sappy cards, balloons or vases of expensive flowers… none of these can fix a distant, damaged or dying relationship. But the VASE can.   Let me explain why. Relationships take work. There is no easy way to achieve closeness and connection on an intimate level without time, talking and gentle touch. It can’t be done. We’ve all seen the commercials about a couple having a romantic exchange in a restaurant as the waiter brings them a special dessert with a diamond ring attached to a note that says, “ Marry me”.   But as a counselor of more than 30 years I can tell you if that couple were distant or detached from each other before they got to the restaurant the jewelry would only be a shiny trinket that didn’t repair hurt, selfishne...

By: Dwight Bain USA Today Newspaper asked readers  “What do you want the most?”  and the most common answer was to be happy. While this sounds reasonable, it’s actually quite a puzzle because happiness is very individualized and hard to broadly define. What makes one person happy may not have much effect on another, or might even annoy them. While the formula of what creates happiness is elusive,  (think of Thomas Jefferson’s writing about the “Pursuit of Happiness”),  the physical and psychological benefits of happiness are easy to track. Here’s a short list of the benefits of being happier. Happy people are better liked Happy people have more satisfying relationships with others Happy people have 13% fewer fights and arguments Happy students are 20% more likely to get “A” grades Happy teens are 10 times less likely to start smoking Happy people have an income that is roughly 7% higher Happy people have 10% fewer stress related illnesses Happ...

By: Dwight Bain, LMHC There is a disease affecting almost every child in America, and it can’t be treated at any hospital. The disease is Entitlement Thinking and it crosses into every corner of our country with the attitude of being served and being given more and more to create happiness. Entitlement is the belief that someone automatically deserves special privileges and special treatment and can be identified by one or all of the following symptoms - Signs of Entitlement Thinking:  ·           I want Everything now . ·           I don’t want to Work for it.   ·           I don’t have to clean up my Mistakes . ·           I want things because Everyone else has it.   ·           I expect someone else to Fix all my problems.   ...

By: Emily Long Taylor Swift said it perfectly in a song: “you got that James Dean daydream look in your eye…” when it comes to describing bad boys. Your friends have dated them, you’ve dated them, your mom, sister, cousin… every woman you encounter has experienced a “bad boy” at one point or another. How can you spot the “bad boys” and identify them? You can’t. They don’t walk around wearing signs of indication, dress a certain way or hang out in a particular area. They just are. When your friends or family date them you can normally spot them more quickly than Waldo in a Where’s Waldo book. But when you’re dating a “bad boy” everything isn’t so crystal clear.  Categories of “Bad Boys” When someone thinks of the bad boy image, their perception is all based on experience. Why? Shouldn’t a bad boy be obvious? Bad boys can earn their classification by their charm. They could be perfectly groomed in an Armani suit and know the exact words to say to a female to win her over....

By: Cara Griffin-Locker, IMH Why do good girls often flock to bad boys? Well, they are fun, adventurous, familiar and more often than not they need to be fixed.  What girl does not like a little project?  As women we tend to want to fix things and that may include the man in our life. How can a good girl avoid dating a bad boy? The answer lies in understanding herself as a woman, having expectations of what she wants in a man and being able to identify her value. A girl’s desire for the perfect man can lead to a fixation on finding a boyfriend. Having a boyfriend does not define you but your self-worth and spirituality do. Relationships experience intimacy when both parties can sacrifice for one other . By definition, a bad boy is unable to offer sacrificial love.  Women often fool themselves into thinking that they are immune to falling for a bad boy. The affection of a bad boy is always performance-based and challenge-driven. Here are four reasons why good gir...

By Matt W. Sandford, LMHC We’ve all seen enough movies to have a glamorous view of the heights of romantic love. And many of us have had that experience of falling into the heady swoon of being caught up in love. But then, you get married. I’m kidding, although there is sort of a ring of truth in that as well, isn’t there? There are all kinds of reasons for this change, some good and some not so good. Some of the reasons are just due to stages of life, like having children for instance, and some are surely due to outside factors and stress level. Let’s take a look at some of the common causes and then review how you can combat then. 1.       Life is really busy, and stressed filled and romance falls by the wayside, or I just don’t have the energy to pursue it. 2.       We have small kids. Duh! We can barely make it through it each day. 3.       There are resentments or disappointments be...