What do you do when your husband is too often grouchy or down at home? Is family life falling short of his expectations, or is he falling short of your expectations? Either way, it’s challenging to your marriage, and to his relationship with the children. You want to share the joys of marriage with him but how can you be positive enough for both of you? How can you see things from his perspective when his struggle stokes your own worries?
Learning to recognize and empathize with what’s really going on in his head and heart is a critical step in helping him feel better about himself and his relationships.
In this episode of the WifeSavers Podcast, “When Family Life Overwhelms Him”, multi-award winning marriage author and educator, Ramona Zabriskie, and her husband of 40+ years, Dale, answer a wife who is struggling to cope with her husband’s negativity with the family.
THROW ME A WIFESAVER: “My husband has been struggling off & on with depression and anxiety. He is angry much of the time and struggles to cope with our kids as they overwhelm him. I find it exhausting to be constantly challenging the story he tells himself. This just makes parenting more difficult and it makes marriage hard for me. I would love any advice you might have!”
Listen and learn why your husband may be feeling anxious and depressed, why this naturally and often affects family life, and how to gain a greater understanding for the pressures he is facing, and how to help soothe and recharge an emotionally or physically depleted spouse.
Key Points in this podcast:
- Your dissimilar approaches to managing pain/emotion
- How parenthood may be affecting him
- Possible causes for your anxiety over his anxiety
- 5 ubiquitous male drives that underpin male fears
- 4 “male masks” used to hide or postpone experiencing emotion
- 5 common “male” fears that are stirred up by family life
- Strategy for helping him regain a sense of balance, control, and energy
“I love listening to both Ramona and Dale interact and laugh with each other – it just makes me happy! Their podcasts model respectful and joyful interactions in marriage and reminds me to laugh more often, especially with my husband. ✭✭✭✭✭” Apple Podcast listener
Get additional insights and solutions related to this topic:
Ep 27: Getting Him on Board With Best Parenting Practices
Ep 22: Finding and Pursuing His Quest
Ep 16: His Criticism Hurts: What to do When Your Husband is Unkind or Unfair
Ep 1: Helping Your Husband Bond With the Kids
