The Impact of Kids Club Sports on Couples:

Navigating Time Commitment and Strengthening Connection

As more kids get involved in club sports, many couples find themselves juggling hectic schedules, travel, financial impact and the pressure of being supportive parents. While these sports can offer valuable experiences for children, the intense time commitment can place a strain on relationships. With practices, games, and tournaments filling weekends and evenings, couples often struggle to find time for each other, which can lead to stress, frustration, and feelings of disconnection.

The key to managing this challenge is prioritizing communication and collaboration. Couples can benefit from openly discussing their schedules and creating strategies to balance responsibilities, such as alternating carpool duties or designating “date nights” away from the sports routine. Setting aside intentional time to reconnect, whether it’s through a quiet dinner or simply checking in about the day, can help maintain a strong relationship amidst the chaos.

While kids’ sports can be a bonding experience, couples must remember to take care of their relationship. By supporting each other, setting boundaries, and making time for themselves, they can strengthen their partnership while still being great parents.

See our new blog post for more information.

Our New Client Portal

We have now implemented SimplePractice a top-rated Electronic Health Records (EHR) software system. Every SimplePractice account includes a Client Portal where you can view upcoming appointments, request new appointments, complete intake paperwork, pay bills, and message your therapist securely.

SimplePractice is HITRUST certified. The HITRUST framework is the gold standard of security certifications in the healthcare industry, and it incorporates the entirety of controls required by HIPAA, PCI, NIST CSF, ISO 27001 and ISO 27002.

This comprehensive practice management solution is trusted by more than 200,000 health and wellness providers. With this practice management software, your therapist can access everything they need including appointment scheduling, billing, client payments, HIPAA-compliant Telehealth, insurance claim filing, and more.

The Relationship Between Anxiety and Pain

Anxiety is known to be a common cause of chronic pain issues. Worse chronic pain can also cause anxiety. This cycle of worry and pain can make life difficult. If you are living with chronic pain, it is no secret that stress comes along with it. Pain can be a symptom — and sometimes a good indicator — of an anxiety disorder, particularly generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

And an anxiety disorder along with chronic pain can be difficult to treat. Those who suffer from chronic pain and have an anxiety disorder may have a lower tolerance for pain. They may be more sensitive to medication side effects or more fearful of side effects than, and they may also be more fearful of pain than someone who experiences pain without anxiety. Common issues related to the anxiety/pain interaction include.

 Pain perception - Anxiety can make us more sensitive to pain, we then focus on the pain even more and which makes it feel worse.

Chronic pain - Anxiety can make chronic pain symptoms worse and increase the likelihood that acute pain becomes chronic.

Pain syndromes - Anxiety, depression, and pain often co-occur in chronic pain syndromes like fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and low back pain.

 Postoperative Recovery - Anxiety may contribute to worse outcomes post-surgery, including pain, longer hospital stays, and readmission for wound complications.

Cognitive Constructs - Anxiety can contribute to pain through cognitive constructs like awfulizing, catastrophizing, hypervigilance, and fear avoidance.

 Physical Pain - Anxiety may cause physical symptoms, such as chest pains from panic attacks, headaches from stress, and muscle pain from tension.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the long-term activation of the stress response system and too much exposure to cortisol and other stress hormones can disrupt almost all the body's processes. This puts you at higher risk of many health problems, including:

Depression

Digestive problems

Headaches

Heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke

Sleep problems

Problems with memory and focus

Short-term treatments for muscle pain caused by anxiety can include stretches, yoga, massage, warm baths, progressive muscle relaxation and guided meditation. A few links to get you started are provided below.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation: An Essential Anxiety Skill - Therapy in a Nutshell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNqYG95j_UQ

10-Minute Meditation For Anxiety - Goodful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-6f5wQXSu8

8 Breathing Exercises to Try When You Feel Anxious - Healthline

https://www.healthline.com/health/breathing-exercises-for-anxiety

7 Quick Stretches for Stress Relief You Can Do Right Now – Everyday Health

https://www.everydayhealth.com/fitness/quick-stretches-for-stress-relief/

Now About Valentine’s Day

Chocolates are nice. But according to Dr. Gary Chapman, when it comes to feeling loved by our partner most of us aren't hoping for gifts. Knowing your partner’s ‘Love Language’ can enhance your relationship by helping you understand what matters to your partner.

HER: Babe, you handled that goat rope at Junior’s school beautifully.

For 23% of us nothing says ‘I Love You’ like words of affirmation. Unsolicited compliments lift our spirit and tell us ‘My partner loves me’. ‘You’re so good at fake smiling’ isn’t what we’re talking about here. Harsh words leave us shattered and are hard for us to forget.

HIM: I’ll get the kitchen cleaned up while you put Junior to bed.

Next up at 20% are acts of service. Cleaning the toilet may not be your idea of saying ‘I Love You!’, but it might make your partner swoon.

HER: Once Junior is in bed, let’s try that twister game the kids got for Christmas.

Tied with acts of service at 20% is quality time. That time you get to spend with your partner doing what you like or doing absolutely nothing at all. The important thing here is that you are giving each other your undivided attention.

HIM: Only if I get to hold your hand!

Physical touch is popular with 19% of us liking hugs, pats on the back and thoughtful touches on the face. This includes appropriate PDA like hand holding or ushering your darling through the door with a hand on her lower back. Touch creates a sense of security and belonging in the relationship.

HER: Oh! You got me those salted pecan banana caramel truffles I like!?!

Fourth runner up at 18% is that satin box filled with chocolates. Receiving gifts is nice and it isn’t about extravagance. It’s the love, thoughtfulness and effort that went into the gift that matters.

PS: If you would like to know your love language, check out Gary Chapman’s online quiz.

Staff Book Recommendation

A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live)

It isn’t just the execution of a task or job that that needs to be considered when divvying up tasks. It’s also all the work Eve Rodsky calls the “hidden work” that can cause an uneven workload. For example, taking the baby to the pediatrician is execution of the task. But what about keeping track of when the baby needs to go and scheduling the appointment?

Rodsky’s book Fair Play is a time and anxiety saving system that offers couples a completely new way to divvy up domestic responsibilities. Fair Play helps you prioritize what's important to your family and who should take the lead on every chore, from laundry to homework to dinner.