It's important to find time for building stronger connections with your partner, but even with good intentions this is just plain hard to do! When we are busy we often just respond to what's hot. It's stressful to feel as if “urgency” is the criteria that runs your life. And, quite frankly, “urgent” says little about value to you, just timeliness. The result is that we often leave the less urgent, but more valuable marriage and family parts of our lives behind. Here are seven very specific tips for reclaiming your marriage and family time in the face of this pressure.
Over the last couple of years 416 people in marriages affected by ADHD have answered our survey about their experiences and feelings. One of the questions we asked was “What gives you the greatest pleasure in your relationship?” I share these responses because too often worn-out posters suggest that there are no positives to be found in ADHD-affected relationships. Next week, I’ll share pleasures from the perspective of the ADD spouses married to non-ADD spouses.
Are you angry that your ADD spouse is able to focus on something of great interest to him, and not to anything you want him to do (like the dishes, or childcare)? If so, you would not be alone.
Treatment and communication skills are only part of the process of improving your marriage. Research shows that another really important thing to do is HAVE FUN! By replacing “down” times with “up” times you create new patterns and new pathways in your brain that support growing and continued happiness. To spur you on, I have created a list of fun activities you might try!
