Episode 17: Keeping Your Relationship Strong – In Conversation with Allison Villa
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In today’s episode, Dr. Lisa talks with Registered Psychotherapist and relationship expert Allison Villa about strengthening our relationships even as we’re raising kids during stressful times. They discuss: simple strategies on how to connect with and communicate effectively with your partner; why self-care is so important and how to fit it in daily; how to prepare for meltdowns; a simple challenge to shift your focus to more positivity; and how to fit in dates and romance even when you are exhausted and pressed for time.
In addition to being a mom of 2 young daughters, Allison is also the founder of House and Hook, an online platform specializing in keeping couples thriving throughout parenthood.
In today’s episode, we cover:
- Finding time to check-in with your partner for preventive relationship care instead of being 2 ships passing in the night
- The benefit of connecting and checking in with your partner first before going through the logistics of everyone’s schedules or expressing and asking for what you need
- If you and your partner are both working at home with kids, consider time blocking your day to support each other, work as a team and focus on one thing at a time successfully instead of feeling unsuccessful and guilty trying to work and parent at the same time
- Choosing what you want this time to look and feel like
- Recognizing that there will be moments of challenge, difficulty and feeling depleted – stress impacts how well you can regulate your emotions
- How to have a pre-meltdown conversation with your partner to discuss strategies to support each other when the meltdowns happen (and they will!)
- That your body and brain is not designed to consume information constantly
- The idea of challenging yourself and your partner to take a 24 hour break from consuming news
- How whatever already exists in your relationships will be magnified right now
- Being playful and making a game out of the frustrating or mundane things that can be draining every day
- How self care is the foundation of every health relationship and how to re-define self care when you don’t have a lot of time on your own
- Getting in self-care, as an intentional act of restoring yourself – it doesn’t happen by accident!
- Scheduling day dates with your partner
Check out some free resources from Allison:
Masterclass on How To Stay Connected During Times of Stress
Get in touch with Allison on Instagram @houseandhook and her websites: House and Hook and allisonvilla.com
Today’s Mama Must Have:
Dr. Lisa and Allison both love Joy McCarthy’s Joyous Health website for all of the healthier versions of foods like cookies and banana bread that you can make with your little ones. Find it here: https://www.joyoushealth.com/
Thank you for joining us today!
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