{"id":2363,"date":"2010-06-11T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-06-11T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/2010\/06\/what-pets-can-teach-us-about-marriage.html"},"modified":"2016-09-21T09:41:04","modified_gmt":"2016-09-21T13:41:04","slug":"what-pets-can-teach-us-about-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2363","title":{"rendered":"What Pets Can Teach Us About Marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_HAl9r2q_-j0\/TA4saiToW_I\/AAAAAAAACj0\/5ZIXZkRuSOM\/s1600\/doggie_wedding.jpg\"><img data-opt-id=734892016  fetchpriority=\"high\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 255px;\" src=\"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_HAl9r2q_-j0\/TA4saiToW_I\/AAAAAAAACj0\/5ZIXZkRuSOM\/s320\/doggie_wedding.jpg?w=735\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" id=\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480366630953835506\" \/><\/a><span style=\"font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 15px; \"><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; \">Okay, I know. This is not about &#8220;nutritional&#8221; health or &#8220;physical&#8221; health, but more about the day to day emotional health that can, in turn, cascade into longer term health problems. At the very least, this provides some food for thought (so to speak!). <\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; \">Dr. Suzanne Phillips suggests we can all learn how to improve our human relationships by focusing on how we interact with our pets. Among her suggestions:<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; \"><b>Greetings: <\/b>Even on bad days, we greet our pets with a happy, animated hello, and usually a pat on the head or a hug. Do you greet your spouse that way?<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; \"><b>Holding grudges:<\/b> Even when our pets annoy us by wrecking the furniture or soiling the floor, we don\u2019t stay mad at them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; \"><b>Assuming the best:<\/b> When our pets make mistakes, we don\u2019t take it personally and are quick to forgive. We give them the benefit of the doubt. Yet when our spouse does something wrong, we often react with anger and blame.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; \">\u201cThe old expression \u2018you get what you give\u2019 may apply here,\u201d writes Dr. Phillips. \u201cMaybe you give something very positive to your pet that invites the unconditional love and connection that makes you feel so good. Maybe it has potential to enhance your relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; \">To learn more lessons from pets to improve your relationship, read the full column,<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.psychcentral.com\/healing-together\/2010\/04\/can-pets-improve-your-relationship\/\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 66, 118); text-decoration: underline; \"> \u201cCan Pets Improve Your Relationship?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --><a href=\"http:\/\/www.addthis.com\/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;pub=willclower\"><img data-opt-id=1342684942  fetchpriority=\"high\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/s7.addthis.com\/static\/btn\/v2\/lg-share-en.gif?resize=125%2C16\" width=\"125\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Bookmark and Share\" style=\"border:0\" \/><\/a><!-- AddThis Button END -->For more information: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.willclower.com\/\"> Click here to visit Will Clower&#8217;s website. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Okay, I know. This is not about &#8220;nutritional&#8221; health or &#8220;physical&#8221; health, but more about the day to day emotional health that can, in turn, cascade into longer term health &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[494],"tags":[433,432],"class_list":["post-2363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-emotional-health","tag-relationships"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Qv5g-C7","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5678,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=5678","url_meta":{"origin":2363,"position":0},"title":"Weight Weight! 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That sore would get worse, fester, and (in this imaginary scenario) you could eventually lose your leg. 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Should I Get A Happy Light?","author":"Will Clower","date":"January 6, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"You may have heard of the \u201cwinter blues and blahs\u201d and wondered why in the world the chilly months of the year would make any difference at all for your emotional health. But this condition of being more likely to feel down during winter months is a real thing. And\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"Woman with gray clouds over her","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Gray-Clouds-Over-Womans-Face.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Gray-Clouds-Over-Womans-Face.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Gray-Clouds-Over-Womans-Face.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Gray-Clouds-Over-Womans-Face.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Gray-Clouds-Over-Womans-Face.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5733,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=5733","url_meta":{"origin":2363,"position":3},"title":"For Better Emotional Health w Chocolate Prevention, NOT Chocolate Treatment","author":"Will Clower","date":"February 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Chocolate can be linked to your emotions in a GOOD way, or in a BAD way. It's like the line from Glenda in the wizard of oz, \"Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?\" From chocolate's perspective, it is neither, as this food becomes healthy for you in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/chocolate-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12687,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=12687","url_meta":{"origin":2363,"position":4},"title":"Proof of a Mind-Gut Connection?","author":"Will Clower","date":"December 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This article from the Harvard School of Public Health is pretty amazing actually. We know that the human gut microbiome has a significant impact on our health. 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The condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder is the most well known emotional outcome of the shorter, colder days that are coming. 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