Mary Jo Rapini, LPC - Articles

Articles by Mary Jo

Relationships, Parenting, and Emotional Wellness

Are the funds in your love bank running low?

Are the funds in your love bank running low?

When we talk about the condition of our bank accounts, it’s usually about financial concerns. Many are currently struggling with their finances and employment status. However, there is another type of investment we rarely talk about and that is your investment in supportive relationships. Relationships are about giving and receiving; whether you deposit love or take withdrawals, it shows up in the emotional health of your family. Over time if you have been withdrawing more th

4 Ways to Continue Growing Friendships During the Pandemic

4 Ways to Continue Growing Friendships During the Pandemic

Friends are a necessary lifeline during hard times. According to author Lydia Denworth, the saying, “life is about survival of the fittest,” should actually be, “life is about survival of the friendliest,” during a pandemic. Our friends are often our top support system when things go badly. Although we are socially distanced, that does not mean our need for friends – new and old – is reduced. We need our social connections more than ever. Friends can heal us both mentally and

How Your Labels Limit You

How Your Labels Limit You

How do you describe yourself to others? How do you describe others to yourself? What do you tell yourself about the situation we’re currently in? Chances are, if you’re feeling limited in your life, a large part of that may be the labels and tags you attach yourself to. We put ourselves and others in boxes, trying to define who we and they are, and this has been studied for years in psychology. According to psychologists, labeling theory says that the labels we perceive are s

According to research, a happy wife means a happy life

According to research, a happy wife means a happy life

You’ve probably heard the saying “happy wife, happy life” and, according to a study from Rutgers’ University, marital contentment was strongly related with whether or not the wife is happy. When she rated herself as feeling miserable in the marriage, her husband responded unknowingly of her responses that the marriage was miserable. These results were not true if the husband was miserable in the marriage; in fact, the researchers found that the relationship did not suffer. Wh

Toxic Positivity: It’s Okay To Not Be Okay

Toxic Positivity: It’s Okay To Not Be Okay

Staying positive during uncertain times is important, unless it means denying what you really feel to fit in with how you think you should feel. Losing touch with reality and pretending you’re happy when your world is on the brink of disaster is not mentally healthy. If you’ve ever been around someone who seems to have lost touch with reality, you understand how difficult it can be to be honest and authentic with that person. Nothing worthwhile in life happens without sacrifi

Checking in With Your Partner Prevents Marriage Check Out

Checking in With Your Partner Prevents Marriage Check Out

It seems counter-intuitive that so many couples are complaining about feeling alone and disconnected despite spending so much time together during the pandemic. However, time together does not always lead to feeling connected; you can be sharing the same but live separate lives. Understandably, couples are also stressed more than ever before. The pandemic has created restrictions, excess screen time, and fear, leaving partners feeling burned out and overwhelmed. Feeling these

Managing Your Anger in Uncertain Times Before It Manages You

Managing Your Anger in Uncertain Times Before It Manages You

The pandemic, the death of George Floyd, and a turbulent election year have created the perfect storm of anxiety, frustration, and fear in the hearts of many Americans. People are working from home, stressing about their health and job status and quarantining with no end in sight. Reacting negatively and aggressively to news has become commonplace. It’s as if we’ve lost our inner compass and are no longer in control of our anger. Feeling anger is normal and expressing it in a

Falling Back in Love When You Have Fallen Out

Falling Back in Love When You Have Fallen Out

Standing at the altar on your wedding day you cannot imagine ever falling out of love with your new spouse. However, couples who have long. successful marriages know that a loving relationship is all about falling in and out of love. Love changes and manifests in different ways and it’s learning to trust your partner and appreciate the different forms of love that make long-term relationships so valuable to your well-being. There is a famous quote that says, “It’s not where y

Is it love or the pandemic making them stay?

Is it love or the pandemic making them stay?

Social distancing and quarantining have affected most relationships. Managing stress and conflict while balancing work/home life were already challenging pre-pandemic. When you add the additional pressures of financial distress, job status, illness, and isolation created by COVID-19, relationships are even more strained. Couples that were not sure of their relationship status pre-pandemic have resigned themselves to sticking it out together, leaving many to wonder, “Is my par

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