Whether it's a cheating spouse, a friend who takes you for granted, or a coworker who stabs you in the back whenever you're not present, no one should make excuses for another person's unsavory behavior. If the person is making a genuine effort to clean up their act, that's one thing. But if they pledge they're going to change, and yet you catch them pulling the same stunts over and over again, they're making a mockery of your compassion. At that point, you have to decide whether to continue giving them the benefit of the doubt, or calling it quits once and for all. It isn't as easy to walk when you're dealing with a coworker and you wish to keep your job. In that case, you may consider asking for a transfer or moving to a cubicle further away from the individual. You might also think twice about ending the friendship if you each have mutual friends. You may worry that he or she will talk smack to the others about you (if they haven't alr...

One of the surest ways to feeling stressed out is the sense that the walls are caving in on you. Rather than being in control of your life, your life is controlling you. You feel like a prisoner with no way out in sight. Those who report feeling this way tend to have too much on their plate. A job that requires ridiculous hours. A spouse and kids. Community service activities. A rigorous exercise routine. And so forth. While packing as much as we can into our schedule certainly prevents life from getting boring, we need to leave ourselves a bit of breathing room. Studies show that stress leads to negative health outcomes like headaches and heart disease. What's more, it may lead to coping mechanisms that can also be disadvantageous to one's health, like overeating, smoking, drinking, or taking illegal drugs. Once you feel as though there's not enough time in the day to do a single thing you enjoy doing for leisure -- read a book, watch a show, listen to music -- it ...

You have a huge fight with your spouse. Your car leaves you stranded on the highway. You lose power at the office and, to your dismay, you forgot to save three hours' worth of work. You accidentally spill soda on your spanking-brand-new blouse. Ever have a day like this, where everything seems to go wrong? We've all been there. I'm actually in something of a rut as we speak. When you find yourself stuck in such a rut, the first thing you need to do is calm down. Breathe. Relax. Decompress. Then, remind yourself that things will get better. It's normal to hit a rough patch every now and then. Sometimes things just don't go in our favor. The sooner you accept that, the quicker you'll get through this phase. Then, do your best to resolve the problems at hand. Once you and your spouse have calmed down enough to have a conversation, let him or her know what's on your mind and work together toward a resolution. Keep the lines of communication o...

Taking back a cheating spouse or partner is a recipe for utter disaster. I'm not saying you can't forgive the person. I'm all for remaining friends, too, provided the person who was cheated on feels comfortable with it. But cheating represents such a flagrant breach of trust that the person shouldn't get a second shot at anything more than friendship, although infidelity precludes that possibility as well in most cases -- and rightfully so. If you do your very best to remain faithful, why can't your partner do the same? What makes you think he or she won't do it again? Many of us get the opportunity to cheat on our partner with an attractive friend, coworker, or acquaintance who makes an obvious pass at us. But we thwart the person's advances out of a deep level of loyalty to the person we love. The risk of throwing everything down the drain for a night of lusty fun just isn't worth it. Not only will you be wracked with guilt later on, but ot...

We've all had people -- whether they be friends, neighbors, co-workers, or acquaintances -- ask us downright nosy questions that border on inappropriate. Here's a sampling of questions that might make you flinch: How much money do you make? How much money do you have saved up? How much did you pay for your home? At what age did you lose your virginity? Do you and your spouse/partner have a healthy sex life? Do you and your spouse/partner fight a lot? When are you going to have kids? (I addressed this one in a post this morning -- Are parents envious of the childfree? ) What health issues do you have? These are the kinds of questions I'd expect a shrink to ask of me, not Joe in accounting or the old lady who lives two houses down.  The worst offenders are the people who pry into your personal life, yet fail to divulge such details about their own lives.  If you ever run into a person like this, don't be afraid to politely change the subject. Or, j...