7 Stages of Marriage
Presented in the
Council for Relationships
•1
Timeline of MarriageEmbrace Change
• Every marriage is unique.
• Change never, ever stops.
• Incredible, inevitable journey
• Live your stage.
• Cultivate love
•2
What’s in Store• Understand the core mission of your marriage.• Develop new strengths for the journey ahead.• Sidestep advice that could threaten your marriage.• Avoid time and effort-wasting wrong moves.
•3
What difference does a Stage make?
. Life experience is dynamic, changing and dimensional
• Life cycle development is predictable
• Life cycle development is individual, interactional, and intergenerational
• Life cycle development is marked by the passing of time
•4
What is unique about the “7 Stages”?
• Developmental issues and tasks have been identified
• Normative events are described• Practical exercises and activities useful in
educational workshops and counseling practice
•5
The Benefit of Knowing the 7 Stages
• Provides a roadmap for today and tomorrow
• Normalizes the experiences of marriage
• Knowing the missions for the stages provides focus
•6
Marriage Today
• Marriage is a value• What the State tells us• The Reader's Digest Survey• The Benefits of Marriage
•7
Reader’s Digest SurveyThe Survey Says…..
• Marriage Isn’t Broken
• It’s Really About Trust
• Laughter is More Important than Sex
• Guys Get Gushy About Marriage, Too
• Challenges Make Us Stronger
•8
7 Stages at a Glance• Passion
• Realization
• Rebellion
• Cooperation
• Reunion
• Explosion
• Completion
•9
Measuring Your MarriageLife Long Journey
• Stages don’t have start times – or ending dates.
• Two stages can overlap.
• You can “repeat” or revisit an earlier stage.
• You can use the lessons of an earlier stage to enhance your current stage.
•10
PASSION
The Love Cocktail – Know the essential ingredients
•11
The Missions • Mission 1 – Savor the Passion
• Mission 2 – Forge a Sense of “We”
• Mission 3 – Learn your Love Languages
• Mission 4 – Build Emotional Intimacy
• Mission 5 – Expand Your Sexual Vocabulary
•12
REALIZATION
The rose-colored glasses come off now – differentiation begins
•13
The Missions• Mission 1: Understand your Expectations
• Mission 2: Open, Honest Talking
• Mission 3: Learn Empathetic Listening
• Mission 4: Be Friends
• Mission 5: Split Household Chores Fairly
• Mission 6: Become a Money Team
•14
REBELLION
Me, Me, Me!
Growth through conflict - from control
to compromise....
on to negotiation
•15
The Missions• Mission 1: Turn Power Struggles into Acceptance
• Mission 2: Move from Conflict to Problem- Solving
• Mission 3: Set and Pursue Healthy Personal Goals
• Mission 4: Renew Your Spirituality
• Mission 5: Recover from Infidelities
• Mission 6: Forgive Your Spouse and Yourself
•16
COOPERATION
Lots to do – work, family, friends, future planning
Not enough time
Not enough money
Not enough sexual intimacy
•17
The Missions• Mission 1: Let Parenthood Strengthen Your Marriage
• Mission 2: Settle Conflicts – and Connect as Friends
• Mission 3: Invite Romance Back into Your Marriage
• Mission 4: De-Stress – and Make Love Again
•18
REUNION
The First Stage of the Rest of Your Marriage – strengthening mutuality
•19
The Missions• Mission 1: Shift Your Focus Back to Your Marriage
• Mission 2: Get off Autopilot
• Mission 3: Welcome Boomerang Kids – Without Neglecting Your Marriage
• Mission 4: Use Your Marriage to Create Good Health
•20
EXPLOSION
Random Crises
Health -physical/emotional
Work
Family
Trauma
•21
• Caring for Aging Parents
• Mission 1: Make Care giving a Team Effort
• Mission 2: Enjoy Your Marriage
•22
• Depression
• Mission 1: Fight the Depression
• Mission 2: Protect Your Marriage – and Yourself
•23
• Job Loss
• Mission 1: Set a New Budget – and New Priorities
• Mission 2: Support Each Other
•24
• Weight Gain
• Mission 1: Feel Good about Your Body
• Mission 2: Take care of your health and reduce your spouse’s anxiety
•25
COMPLETION
Recreating and Enjoying Life
Continuity and Loss
•26
The Missions• Mission 1: Keep Your Marriage Growing
• Mission 2: Play – And Be in the Moment
• Mission 3: Share a New Sense of Meaning and Purpose and Prepare for Loss
• Mission 4: Reorganize Your Time, Your Territory, Your Tasks
•27
Applications for Workshops
•28
Applications in Counseling Couples
Thank you!
• The 7 Stages of Marriages provide a lifelong guide to identifying and exploring the missions, challenges and rewards of the stages of marriage.
• Congratulations• WISH YOU A HAPPY MARRIED LIFE
•29