How to Prevent Unhealthy Relationships

In order to steer clear of unhealthy relationships, it's essential to be able to know what a healthy one is. If our primary example regarding marriage is our parents, and we aren't too thrilled with many of the traits their relationship has or had, we need to consider what a healthy relationship does look like.

Now...many years ago, before there were scanning machines to detect counterfeit money, bank employees were trained to recognize the real from the fake. What's most important...is that they spent all their time studying the original article, and no time on studying the fake. The goal was to get the employees so conditioned to the features of the genuine article that anything that deviated from it would stand out immediately. In relationships, it works exactly the same way. The traits of a healthy relationship is what we need to concentrate our focus on.

A healthy relationship is one that involves 2 people who invest their time and energy to build a team. The relationship is a high priority for both members and requires attention for it to grow and get stronger. This seems so obvious, yet to most people it's not. People from all walks of life, consistently say that their family relationships are a top priority. The core of the family is the marriage relationship. In any organization, the health of the relationship of those steering the ship is foundational to it's long term success. Yet, in spite of what the vast majority of people claim is important to them, their actions don't match their words. Work, children, friends, hobbies, in-laws and out-laws, and a multitude of other activities and relationships are allowed to crowd the couple out from their proper place of importance within the family unit.

The same principles that governs physical fitness or the obtaining of a desired goal, affect the health and wellness of a dating or marriage relationship. Far more often than not, what we put into it, we get out. Mutual trust and respect for each other's thoughts and feelings is a hallmark of a healthy relationship. Each person's uniqueness is honored and viewed as a valuable element of the team. A key to the team's strength is found in it's diversity.

Unfortunately, the unique traits of a spouse that were once considered highly attractive, often become the main reasons for unhappiness in an unhealthy relationship. Men and women begin to want their partner to behave more like them, to think like them and understand their unique point of view in spite of the fact that not only are men and women radically different biologically, they are socialized and conditioned very differently as well.

Couples in a healthy relationship understand that trust and respect, for the most part, is earned. If I behave in a manner that is trustworthy by keeping my commitments, I can earn both trust and respect. Even though I may not share my wife's opinions and feelings on a given subject, I can earn her trust and respect by allowing her to think and feel what she wants.

In healthy relationships, listening is vital, agreement is not. Listening does not mean agreeing. A healthy relationship allows for differences of opinion. They are accepted and welcomed, and they enrich the relationship. It's normal to disagree without becoming disagreeable. Disagreement does not equal rejection in healthy relationships. That's worth repeating. In healthy relationships, disagreement does not equal rejection.

For the relationship to prosper, it's imperative that there is agreement on values. Spiritual or religious beliefs need to be considered if the couple is to prosper, as do values and beliefs regarding work, child raising and in-laws. Time spent discussing issues like "how to raise the children", is a requirement in a healthy relationship. Is it best for the family to have one of the parent's staying home with the children? What if your in-laws come to stay for an extended period of time...how do you feel? Are you a fitness buff and your spouse is a couch potato? If you want a family and a career, how will you work to do both at the same time? Do the two of you agree on where your child will be schooled?

Your values and beliefs are the primary sources that you will use to answer these important questions. These need serious consideration for your relationship to thrive.

Chris Keenan is the founder of Relationship Sharing. They help people who like to share and learn about relationships, to do so in small group settings via telephone conferencing. If you want more free relationship articles then go to [http://www.relationshipsharing.com] for hundreds of relationship articles. Try their "relationship sharing" service for free!

Are Physician's Relationships To Pharmaceutical Companies Unhealthy For Their Patients? (Part One)

The New England Journal of Medicine reports that 94% of all physicians receive some sort of compensation from drug companies. These incentives may be in the form of food and beverages in the workplace, free drug samples, reimbursements for professional meetings or their continuing medical education, and direct payments for consulting, speaking, or enrolling patients in trials or studies.

Such gifts and payments have a direct influence on the physician's ability to make sound medical decisions. The vast amount of amenities that the majority of physicians accept has made it difficult for them to any longer distinguish between legitimate sources of medical information from that which has been influenced by the pharmaceutical companies desire to market their products. This unfortunate situation has also blurred the lines between that which is actually educational, and that which is merely a marketing ploy.

Drug Companies Might Very Well Be Your Doctor's Only Source Of Education

It is quite likely that your doctor does not spend much time after hours going over reports and statistics on the latest drugs. It is more likely that the information he or she receives comes from drug representatives who are peddling their specific brands of medicines. According to a 2008 report, drug companies spend more than $50 billion dollars per year in promotions to help make sure that your doctor is actually listening to their high paid drug pushers.

Do These Doctor-Drug Company Relationships Effect Patient Health Care?

Although you would be hard put to find one doctor in a million who would admit that the many free gifts which they receive and enjoy from the pharmaceutical companies has any effect on what they prescribe to their patients, research has shown otherwise. These amenities in fact actually do influence prescribing practices. The nearly $20 billion dollars per year that the drug companies spend in building and maintaining relationships with physicians all over the country is proof enough that your physician's behavior is affected by these relationships, and these relationships do in fact increase sales or else the drug companies would not dish out that kind of money.

I believe that we place physicians on a great pedestal in this country and forget that they too are merely human beings who are just as capable of being influenced and persuaded by the love of money (greed), perks, and entitlements, as any other human being on the planet.

In this writer's opinion the question of whether or not a physician's financial relationship with a pharmaceutical company has any effect on the overall health care of a patient is really a no-brainer. It would actually be almost impossible to stay 100% committed to that which is actually best for the patient under a physician's care if the physician were promoting the drugs which paid for his or her new luxury automobile. This is quite obvious to me, but the question is, is it obvious to you? For your sake and the physical and financial well being of this great country I hope you will consider what is here written and start to make positive dietary and lifestyle changes in your daily walk and begin to rely less on your doctor who might very well rely too heavily on a big pharmaceutical company.

I am passionate about health issues, and the state of the health of our wonderful America. I believe the American diet is literally killing us and that a steady flow of money and perks from the meat, egg, and dairy industries to the U.S. government is the reason we have had a long sustained brainwashing campaign that has precipitated the shift from a predominantly plant-based diet to an animal-based diet. The result has been an unprecedented increase in heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancers of all varieties. I believe Americans are suffering from a lack of truthful information concerning our diets. I enjoy writing motivational articles that will help to correct the problem regarding this lack of information and also examine the prevailing misinformation in the light of truth.

Healthy Vegetarian Choices For Life
Dedicated to the advancement of informed choices that will benefit our health, our environment, and our animal friends. Please visit my website at http://www.ourhealthforlife.com and look around awhile. I would very much appreciate comments concerning your reaction to what I have written as well as any input that might aid me in the task of making my site more helpful. I thank you in advance for your consideration.