29 | January | 2012 | | Guru Goddess

KEEPING YOUR ROMANCE AGREEMENT

One of the things we love so much about dating is the spark, sizzle, spontaneity, and the chance to learn new things about each other. With any luck, your romance agreement will help you foster that sense of wonder and excitement through the shared activities you plan and the atmosphere of love you create.

Relationships are all about relating. As my yoga teacher once said, you are relaying information. It will last only as long as the other person chooses to continute communicating with you, that is, listening to what you have to say, and saying what he feels.

Love, communication, sex, are all ACTIVE choices. No one can make that choice for you. No one can or should force you to. You choose positive or negative, you can choose loving or harsh.

You can choose to keep your romance agreement, or not. You can’t force a garden to grow any faster by tugging at the shoots. But by patiently focusing on creating an atmosphere of love each day and night, and by scheduling regular times for lovemaking and sharing, you will be actively planting the seeds that will help your relationship flourish like a garden in spring.

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REFERENCES IN ARTICLE
All quotes are taken from:
The Columbia World of Quotations, 1996.
Anonymous Limerick
Philip Larkin (June 16, 1967). Annus Mirabilis, st. 1, High Windows (1974).
Karl Kraus (1874–1936), Austrian satirist. repr. In Anti-Freud: Karl Kraus’s Criticism of Psychoanalysis and Psychiatry, ch. 8, by Thomas Szasz (1976). Die Fackel, no. 229 (Vienna, July 2, 1907).
BIOGRAPHY: Columbia Encyclopedia.

A lot of people talk about the Great Depression which started with the Stock Market Crash of 1929, but we have certainly been undergoing another Great Depression since the markets took a tumble in late September and early October 2008, and there seems little good news at the moment with respect to recovery from this recession.

The stress and strain of bad news all the time and everyone being worried about making ends meet can take their toll. Money-related stress can be responsible for many health conditions and symptoms. Depression can also be triggered by stressful events in your life, particularly if you have been suffering from health problems.

Depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain. While only a doctor can make a diagnosis on depression, there are several well-known signs and symptoms that accompany clinical depression which can help identify if you are just feeling a bit down or ‘blue’ or have a condition that requires treatment.

Even if you have had a major life event that is happy, such as the birth of a new baby, this can led to stress and/or depression. Up to 10% of women report suffering from post-partum depression. Many people avoid seeking treatment for depression because they believe depression is an embarrassing illness that shows they are ‘weak’ or ‘crazy’ or can’t cope. But it is a treatable medical condition no different from cancer or diabetes-if you would not be embarrassed to get help for them, you should not be embarrassed to seek help for depression.

Other people avoid seeking help because they think the only treatments available are harsh drugs with lots of side effects. The truth is that there are many different effective and safe treatments for depression, including natural remedies. They can be used alone or in combination with one another.

If you are feeling like you are dragging in the morning, or you seem to be lacking in motivation or often find yourself easily irritated, it might be time to get to the root cause of your moods and consult with your doctor to see if you are suffering from stress, or depression.

FURTHER READING
How to Cope With Money-Related Stress: Dealing With Financial Stress During the Recession

Transforming Stress Into Success: How to Minimize Stress and Maximize Success in Today’s Economy

How to Cope with Postpartum Depression

Treating Depression and Anxiety with Natural Remedies