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Getting Together and Staying Together
William Glasser, M.D., Carleen Glasser
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eBook - ePub
Getting Together and Staying Together
William Glasser, M.D., Carleen Glasser
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About This Book
The facts are nothing short of startling--no matter how many people seem to walk down the aisle, the divorce rate in America is at a record high. What's the secret to getting into a happy marriage and, even more important, staying in one? Now world-renowed psychiatrist Dr. William Glasser and his wife, Carleen Glasser, update their classic guide to successful marriages, Staying Together, for couples young and old. As they examine the questions of why some marriages work and others fail, the Glassers advise readers on how to create loving and happy relationships by applying Dr. Glasser's trademark "choice theory." The result is a wealth of new information about who would make a compatible partner and how to improve any relationship.
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1
My Marriage Is a Mystery
A while back we received the following e-mail:
I have sent this query to the websites of several well-known psychologists and psychiatrists, but to tell you the truth, Iām not even sure I want an answer. Iām even worried that what you may tell me will make me feel worse than I feel now. The other possibility is that there isnāt an answer; there certainly doesnāt seem to be one. I wonāt be surprised if you tell me that the marriage I have is the way marriage is and I should just accept it.
To begin, I guess the best way to put it is, that for me, marriage is a mystery. It became a mystery a few years after we married, and in the twenty-plus years Iāve been married to Larry, my husband, it remains a mystery. Larry doesnāt know Iām writing this letter, but as far as I can see, itāS as much a mystery to him as it is to me. On the surface, we have a good marriage. We donāt fight or argue much and, I guess compared to their marriages, my friends tell me I have one of the best marriages in our circle. But itāS not good enough for me.
My problem is that thereāS no spark in our relationship. To put it in two words: ItāS dull. ThereāS nothing to look forward to. It just goes along month after month, the ups never high, the lows rarely low. Our marriage reminds me of the heart monitor on ER when the patient dies, flat, no more beeps. ItāS not that we donāt do things or see people we enjoy. But the enjoyment is more as individuals than as a couple. For example, with our friends heāS with the men and Iām with the women. What we donāt seem to be able to do anymore is enjoy each other. When weāre together by ourselves, thereāS no real substance to our relationship.
More and more, I think about the beginning, about how much in love we were. How every moment we could spend together was so precious. How just being with each other seemed to be all we needed. ItāS not that I have any hope we could ever recapture those initial feelings, but this is too far in the other direction. As I look over what Iāve just written, it sounds stupid. Why would you be interested in the complaints of a disgruntled forty-two-year-old woman? I feel stupid for even bothering you.
Anyway, hereāS the conclusion Iāve come to after wracking my brain for a year. And mind you, all I can really speak for are wives. I donāt think I know that much about how my husband really feels or what he thinks about, and neither do the women Iāve discussed this with. If we had that kind of communication in the first place, weād have much better marriages. When I ask them, most women say, āIām happily married.ā And I say it, too. But what we are talking about is the whole picture: friends, family, children, grandchildren, and even the people we work with. What we donāt talk about is happiness with our husbands.
So Iām not saying itāS all bad. We have the status of being married, which is still important to most women, and my guess is to most men. ItāS certainly important to me. Marriage gives us more money, help with our children, and a man we can trust in a crisis, much more than we would have if we werenāt married. And in so many marriages in our circle, our husbands are like Larry, good men whom we loved when we married them and for whom we still have some affection if no longer any passion.
I would also say that most women donāt even want to face what Iāve written here. As I said, Iām almost afraid to send this to you: I dread that youāll tell me that what I have is as good as itāS going to get. Tone down your expectations; the part of your life that you long for is over. Youāve got a good husband, make the best of it, you could be a lot worse off than you are.
Well, Iāve decided not to settle for what I have. Iām not going to settle for the marriage I have without trying to find out more than I know now. Iām sick of this being such a mysteryāthere must be things I can do. Iām also willing to put some effort into any suggestion you may give me that makes sense. Please, if you have anything to tell me, Iād like to hear from you.
Cheryl M.
Since Carleen and I had just completed the first six chapters of this book, CherylāS letter couldnāt have been more timely. We quickly e-mailed our response.
We offered to send Cheryl the chapters but warned her that just reading them wouldnāt solve her problems. Repairing a relationship isnāt a simple āDo thisā or āDonāt do thatā situation. It requires work and change, and it requires the willing participation of both partners.
We urged Cheryl to show Larry her e-mail and ours, and to get back to us if Larry was onboard. We also thanked her for giving us the subtitle to our book: Solving the Mystery of Marriage.
2
LarryāS Dilemma
The day after we e-mailed our answer to Cheryl, I got a call from her husband, Larry. As soon as she got our reply, Cheryl had shared both e-mails with him. They had a long talk, and after overcoming some doubts and a little denial, they agreed theyād both really like to have a better marriage. They decided they were willing to work at it together. He then told me the reason for his call. He wanted to talk with me before I sent the manuscript so Iād have a better idea of what he thought was wrong with their marriage.
Since Carleen and I live and work in our home in West Los Angeles, Larry asked if I would be willing to come south, closer to where he worked in Orange County. He wanted to meet with me professionally so that what we talked about could be kept confidential. He didnāt care if I shared it with Carleen, but he didnāt want Cheryl to find out what he told me. She had shared our letter with him, so I could see no reason not to listen to what he had to say. I agreed to meet him the next day for lunch.
When I got to the restaurant, he was already sitting at a table. The restaurant was not crowded, so there would be no problem with privacy. He was a nice-looking man, trim and tanned, who smiled as if he was glad to see me. We introduced ourselves, exchanged a little small talk for a moment while the waiter got us some water, and then went to the buffet to get our lunch. When we got back to the table he began to eat and talk.
Larry was a professor at a large state college not far from where he lived. Heād been at the college for almost his whole married life. He enjoyed teaching and was respected in his field. His wife was the director of a nursery school near where they lived. It was pretty much as sheād described in her letter: no major problems with health, money; their two children were away at college and getting along well. But he agreed with her that there was not much companionship and very little sex. By the time we finished lunch, I had learned a lot about Larry and his life with Cheryl but, as far as I could see, nothing that needed to be kept secret from anyone. He then ordered coffee, and I waited for him to tell me why he had wanted so much to see me.
He hesitated a moment and then said, āYou know, Doctor, Iām glad my wife wrote you, and Iām looking forward to reading your manuscript. Weāll read it together. But I have to tell you, I have some doubts that a book could help our marriage. Iād like to tell you why, if itāS okay with you.ā
I nodded for him to go ahead.
āWhen she wrote you that we were in love in the beginning, she told the truth. We were. And I think she still loves me, whatever that means after twenty years of the kind of marriage weāve had. And for what itāS worth, I still love her. But maybe what Iām saying is that I still love the woman she was when we got married. And, like she still has hopes about me, I havenāt given up hope she could be that woman again. Once in a while we have a few days of closeness, but it never lasts. It may be my fault that it doesnāt last, but itāS the way she is that makes it so hard for me. As soon as we have a little closeness, she wrecks it for me. To be honest, I donāt think she has any idea what she does that turns me off so much. Do you have any idea what Iām trying to tell you?ā
āI really donāt. Go ahead, tell me what you came to tell me.ā
āIām trying. The problem is, now that Iām here, itāS real hard to explain what bothers me without sounding like a jerk. Iām worried that Iāll come across as shallow and intolerant, and I donāt really think I am.ā
āI canāt predict how youāll come across to me; youāll have to take a chance on that. But Iām curious. Iād like to hear what youāre having so much trouble saying. Besides, I donāt look at people who come to see me as shallow or as deep. I look at them as people struggling to get as much as they can out of their lives. And often, in the process doing things that hurt the people they care for. Maybe hurting themselves, too. ItāS pain that brings people to see me. I think itāS pain that brought you here.ā
āIt is pain. I didnāt notice it so much years ago when it started, but now itāS there almost all the time. ItāS not acute or something I canāt stand, just kind of a dull, gnawing ache, something that feels as if itāS never going to go away. What I havenāt been able to come to terms with is that CherylāS a complainer. Not so much to other people, but to me, about everything. She doesnāt always complain about me, but I canāt help but think that itāS directed at me, anyway. Doctor, the complaints are constant; nothing is ever the way it should be.ā
āHave you told her it bothers you?ā
āI have, but she just says itāS the way she is, that I shouldnāt pay attention to it, but I do, I canāt help it. Whenever she complains, I canāt help thinking I have to fix it or take care of it. She tells me I donāt, but I get desperate to stop her complaints, so I keep trying to fix what I can. ItāS a losing battle, like spitting in the ocean. She keeps telling me to stop trying to fix things. She admits she doesnāt want solutions, she just wants me to listen to her. But even that isnāt easy. Look, we go out for dinner in a neighborhood restaurant. On the way, the trafficāS too heavy, the parkingāS terrible, the tableāS not ready or itāS too close to the kitchen or itāS too noisy. The food is good but itāS late and itāS not hot. And the service is so slow weāre going to miss the movie she wanted so much to see. I donāt even think she notices it, but thereāS something wrong with everything and everyone, and I have to hear about it all.ā
āDo you think youāre blowing it out of proportion?ā
āMaybe. Maybe I am exaggerating, but not that much. Even when she isnāt complaining, it doesnāt seem to help because I expect it and get tense waiting for what I know is going to happen. I find myself walking on eggs, trying to fix things before they happen, trying to take responsibility for the whole imperfect world that she canāt abide. And getting frustrated because I canāt. She even complains that I go off to work too happy in the morning, and sheāS right, I do. Iāve also gotten to the point where I never complain about anything because when I do she one-ups me, what happened to her was so much worse than what happened to me.ā
āWhat happens if you start out by saying itāS our lucky day, everything is fine?ā
āLike I said, I used to try, but Iāve given up. She gets angry and calls me a wimp. She says if it werenāt for her, people would walk all over me.ā
āHave you thought about divorce?ā
āOf course Iāve thought about divorce. But Iām not painting the whole picture. She does a lot more than complain. She takes care of me. She tells me I need care and she gives it to me. She doesnāt seem to resent taking care of me at all. She almost never complains about that. But she also takes care of everyone in the family, really does a lot for them and then complains to me about all she has to do. But still she likes to take care of people. SheāS happy when she does, even with all the complaints. She also runs a perfect home. SheāS a great cook. She operates a top-notch nursery school, never complains about the kids and never fails to complain about their parents. If Iām sick or need anything, sheāS there and she complains that I donāt need her enough. And sheāS loyal. She doesnāt have much interest in what I do, but she supports my job and complains that people donāt appreciate me enough. Iām afraid to tell her about any of my troubles at work because itāll set her off. But, Doctor, I canāt leave her. SheāS a good person who lives in a lousy world. And if she could be in charge, I really think itād be a better world, but sheāll never be in charge. Besides, I love her. Weāve been together for so many years, I just canāt picture my life without her. As much as she complains, sheāS more on my side than anyone else is. SheāS not the kind of person youād want to lose.ā
āI guess it may have helped you to tell me all youāve just told me, but I get the feeling that you still havenāt told me what you really came here for.ā
āNo, I havenāt. I havenāt told anyone. I canāt. ItāS how I deal with her, how I put up with all her complaining. I want to stop doing it. Iām hoping just as much as she is that what youāve written will help us to get along better. I want to tell you this so you know sheāS not the only one at fault in our marriage. Iām more at fault than she is. I lead a double life. ItāS what keeps me going. I rationalize what I do by telling myself that once in a while I deserve to get away from all her complaints, that itāS her fault I do what Iām doing. But of course it isnāt. I do it because I want to do it. And I have no intention of doing anything more than Iām doing. I never plan to leave her or even give her a hard time. I treat her well, but sheāS right when she says thereāS no real close feeling between us. Or maybe itāS me who doesnāt feel close to her. Iām not blaming her, Doctor, but if sheād stop complaining, things between us would be a lot better.ā
I just kept looking at him.
āI donāt need closeness with her because I get it from other women. I have long-term affairs where I get to know the women very well. But again, what I have with them is superficial. Theyāre not part of my life and Iām really not part of theirs. They supplement Cheryl, but they donāt replace her. They donāt and they never will.ā
āWhere do you find these women?ā
āThere are plenty at the college where I work. Theyāre just like me. Mostly theyāre married and have no intention of leaving their husbands or families, but they lack inti macy in their marriages, too. Like me, theyāre well aware of what they need and what I can give. We tread a narrow line; we accept that to need or want moreāll...