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‘It’s all about relationships and being that positive role model for the kids that need us the most’

MANCHESTER, NH  – Memorial High School Principal Arthur L. Adamakos said this past school year by far has been the most challenging in his 41-year-career with the Manchester School District. Adamakos this week reflected on his career with the Manchester School District now that his June 30th retirement is in sight. The COVID-19 pandemic upended the school year, resulting in remote learning since March and the cancellation of proms, award ceremonies and class trips.  And there is still no word on how the city’s four high schools will celebrate graduations. “My goal is to have a physical graduation, not a virtual one,” he said.  “That’s what I have been campaigning for.  Still, we’re going to have to practice social distancing.”  And administrators must figure out how to deliver diplomas.  “That could be interesting so there’s a lot to be discussed.  It’s in progress,” he said. It is important for the seniors but Adamakos is looking forward to it as well.  After all, a retiring educator’

The best advice for the three most common coronavirus relationship issues

Since the coronavirus pandemic started, many of us have spent an extra 40 hours per week at home with our partners. That’s 2,400 additional minutes in each other’s space. We’ve picked up 97 of our spouse’s empty seltzer cans and conjugated hundreds of French verbs for our children, since school is closed and we’re now school. But who’s counting? We are. And that counting — whether it’s the number of times you did the laundry or how many Zoom meetings were interrupted by a child in underpants asking for Goldfish — kindles the flame that can reduce a relationship to ashes. The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have advice about how we can defend our bodies, but what’s going to protect the health of our relationships? Soap and water won’t work: Divorce filings have spiked in China, and we’re now seeing similar reports in New York City. We’d be kidding ourselves to think that this isn’t going to spread across the nation, even as states begin to reopen. We need to take pro

Many romantic relationships are actually doing fine under coronavirus lockdown, study finds

If you’ve been holding your breath, waiting for your relationship to crumble under coronavirus lockdown, well, take a breath. Maybe it won’t. A new poll suggests that Americans might not be headed for the coronavirus divorce spike that China has seen, and many Portland-area residents agree that their relationships are stronger than ever. A new national Monmouth University poll of people currently in a romantic relationship found the “vast majority” report that mostly their relationships have stayed the same as before the pandemic upended normal life. According to the findings, of Americans who are in romantic relationships, “59% say they are extremely satisfied with that relationship and 33% are very satisfied. Another 4% are somewhat satisfied and just 1% are either not too or not at all satisfied.” That “extremely satisfied” number is very close to previous national polls -- 57% in 2017 and 58% in 2014. The type of relationship also matters -- 64% of married partners are extremely sa

Feeling Trapped or Abandoned: When Relationships Run Hot or Cold

By nature, humans are wired for connection. We seek out others to share our lives with, with the goal of forming lasting and intimate bonds. So feeling trapped or abandoned in an intimate relationship shouldn’t be a common thing, should it? Actually, these experiences are common for partners who wind up repeating cycles within intimate relationships that they may be unaware of. Feeling trapped or abandoned are commonly seen in the push-pull dynamic found in unhealthy relationships; both styles often represent two sides of the same coin. Engulfment and Abandonment Defined Fear of being engulfed, or  trapped,  is often indicated as feeling smothered, or in losing one’s autonomy within the relationship. People who report feeling trapped may try controlling their partner through hostile withdrawal, emotional indifference, cheating or otherwise punishing the partner, up to and including, abandoning them. Fear of being  abandoned  is often indicated as being afraid to be alone, or fearing be