By Chandrama Anderson
E-mail Chandrama Anderson
About this blog: About this blog: I am a LMFT specializing in couples counseling and grief and have lived in Silicon Valley since 1969. I'm the president of Connect2 Marriage Counseling. I worked in high-tech at Apple, Stanford University, and in ...
(More)About this blog: About this blog: I am a LMFT specializing in couples counseling and grief and have lived in Silicon Valley since 1969. I'm the president of Connect2 Marriage Counseling. I worked in high-tech at Apple, Stanford University, and in Silicon Valley for 15 years before becoming a therapist. My background in high-tech is helpful in understanding local couples' dynamics and the pressures of living here. I am a wife, mom, sister, friend, author, and lifelong advocate for causes I believe in (such as marriage equality). My parents are both deceased. My son graduated culinary school and is heading toward a degree in Sociology. I enjoy reading, hiking, water fitness, movies, 49ers and Stanford football, Giants baseball, and riding a tandem bike with my husband. I love the beach and mountains; nature is my place of restoration. In my work with couples, and in this blog, I combine knowledge from many fields to bring you my best ideas, tips, tools and skills, plus book and movie reviews, and musings to help you be your genuine self, find your own voice, and have a happy and healthy relationship. Don't be surprised to hear about brain research and business skills, self-soothing techniques from all walks of life, suggestions and experiments, and anything that lights my passion for couples. (Author and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Calif. Lic # MFC 45204.)
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I finished reading Hurricane Sisters, and the husband came home begging for forgiveness. The couple spent the whole night talking, and then agreed never to talk about his affair again, and she would take him back.
This is the work of novels and Hollywood. I've not met a person who could talk one long night about an affair and put it behind them. There's a lot to discover: How did this happen? What led to the affair? Was the affair intended to end the relationship? Shake it up? The are multiple reasons for an affair, and knowing which one(s) helps in knowing how to resolve it. Trust has to be rebuilt. STDs have to be checked for. And so on.
As for stuffing things: Have you seen people with those huge jaw muscles? Knots in stomachs? Chronic pain? Stress? When we stuff, it has to go somewhere.
I recommend talking about things. Slowly, kindly, curiously, listening carefully. If you get triggered, slow down more, breathe. Say how you're feeling, rather than hammer away at the content of the discussion. E.g., I feel scared now, or betrayed. Offer comfort and empathy, rather than reassurance.
