It used to be that people didn't get a divorce because of the children involved. However, during these hard economic times, people are staying together simply because they can’t afford to get a divorce. That makes for any unhappy couples that are staying together because a divorce isn’t in the budget.

Economic uncertainty, paired with shaky or unhappy marriages can add a lot of undesired stress on a family. Previously many couples would finance their divorce by selling the couple’s joint home, now the couples largest asset has a larger mortgage on it then what it is actually worth. These unhappy couples also have a hard time getting a credit card or personal loan to pay for an attorney since the lending market has tightened their belts and aren’t giving out as many loans as before. And moving out into an apartment or another home can also be unattainable since a lot of couples can barely afford the cost of maintaining just one residence. It seems as though divorice is now a luxury that many people just may not be able to finanically afford.

What is a couple who is stuck in an unhappy marriage to do?

Do you stay together simply because you can’t afford to divorce?

Or, would you rather go bankrupt than stay in an unhappy marriage?

How do you think these decisions effect children involved? Is it better to have a 2 parent household that is miserable? Or are children whose parents are divorced live happier lives?

On the other hand, do you think that since getting a divorce is now harder to do, this may cause people to really consider marriage before actually doing it? Will it encourage people to try to make their marriage work, rather than calling it quits overnight?

Please join the conversation and leave your comment below!

photo via hsff

Have you heard the story of Lynn France, who found out about her husband's surprise second wedding that she found about via Facebook? No, ok - you will want to sit down for this one.

Lynn France is a mother of three from Cleveland who sat down to her computer one day, logged into Facebook and was shocked to find over 200 pictures of her husband, John walking down the aisle at Disney World marrying another woman.

Now comes the shocking part - she took him back when he decided he wanted to stay with Lynn and annul his marriage with the Disney princess. Then on May 21st, John took the couple's two sons and headed back to Florida to live with his other wife.

Now, Lynn is left behind to watch her husband and his other wife, live her life online with her children.

Do you think that Lynn should have taken her husband back in the first place?

What do you think his other wife is thinking?

How do you think this will affect the lives of the children involved?

Everyone wonders about this. Are our friends having more sex than we do? Do any other couples have this problem where one partner has high desire, and the other one has little to none? There must be something really wrong with us! Everyone wants sex 24/7 don't they?

The answer to these most commonly asked questions are no. Not really. More than 40 million Americans feel stuck in low-sex or no sex marriages. Research studies tell us that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 7 men reported little to no sexual desire. Sometime in a marriage more than 50% of couples experience one or both partners with little to no sexual desire.

Desire problems are the most frequent complaint of couples entering sex therapy. They are also often the unspoken complaint of couples entering relationship therapy. It is important to first rule out any physical or biological medical problems.

With this in mind, it is recommended to make an appointment with your general medical doctor, or get a referral from your Sex Therapist (Board certified Clinical Sexologist). Your therapist will recommend that the medical doctor run a hormonal profile along with a physical exam to rule out any other problems, such as medical disease or medications that could be affecting your libido or sexual desire.

In today's society relationship issues including, sexual anxieties, inhibitions, and problems are the norm. We're afraid of not doing it "right", like in movies and books. "Right" would be intercourse, with both parties craving each other all the time and having simultaneous orgasms every time they're intimate. In other words, "being all over each other 24 hours a day.

Wrong! Healthy sexuality means giving and receiving touching that is pleasurable. Sexuality and intimacy may include 1001 different modes of showing love and affection for one another. There is no 1 one "right way" of making love. The optimal experience would be that of being together, with no "editing" of the respective partner. In other words, take your time, experiment, kiss, touch, and take time to build up the level of excitement with one another. If there is always an ultimate goal of an absolute outcome...surely one of you is likely to be disappointed.

Great sex and love- making is not goal oriented, but process oriented. (The journey, not the destination.) It allows both partners to enjoy pleasure. It varies. Sometimes one or both has an orgasm. Sometimes not. And that's ok. What's not ok is not caring about yours or your partner's needs.

There are many possible reasons for a discrepancy in desire between partners. The first is biological. As I mentioned in the statistics above, more than twice as many women than men have problems with sexual desire. This is because after the infatuation phase of the relationship, when hormones are running rampant, things settle down to natural biological rhythms. And biologically speaking, whoever has the most testosterone usually has the most desire.
Hmmm.... I wonder which gender that is!

Other reasons relevant to both genders are performance anxiety, emotional pain in the relationship, coerced intimacy, sex used as a bartering tool, lack of time, lack of energy, and fear of intimacy to name a few. These can be helped with an understanding therapist.

What you can do: see a relationship expert or sex therapist that can help you experience the pleasure and joy of intimate connection. You deserve no less.