Where Is My Happily Ever After?

  You may have found your prince, but what happens when he begins looking more like a toad? Where is my happily ever after? We have all been exposed over and over to romantic stories from movies and television, and the story always ends when the romantic partners finally get together and live happily ever after. In actuality, this is when the realrelationship story begins. There are several stages that relationships go through over time, but most of us want the happily ever after ” and believe our relationship should be easy. This is a myth. Satisfying, mature, relationships happen when both people work hard to maintain a sense of safety with each other. According to Stan Tatkin PhD, there are a few stages in love relationships. These stages will help you identify where you are in the development of your own relationship. All three involve very different emotional states, so they require an adjustment with each transition. The 3 stages of development of relationships, click to read more...