Marriage Success is a blog that provides ideas, tools and advice to help you achieve a happy marriage. Having a successful marriage is very important yet over 50% of all marriages end in divorce. And many married couples painfully carried on with an unhappy marriage. Why does a marriage start out so bright, so full of hope and promise, and over time lose it's passion and excitement? These and many other questions about marriage will be answered on this blog with solutions to these problems. Visit the blog, sign up to the free marriage success newsletter at http://www.marriagesuccess.com

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Unhappiness in marriage often has a simple root cause: We speak different love languages, believes Dr. Gary Chapman. While working as a marriage counsellor for more than 30 years, he identified 5 love languages:

• Words of Affirmation
• Quality Time
• Receiving Gifts
• Acts of Service
• Physical Touch

The Five Love Languages: How to Express Hearfelt Commitment to Your Mate. by Dr Gary Chapman

In a friendly, often humourous style, Dr. Chapman unpacks each one of these languages. Some husbands may crave focused attention; another needs regular praise; gifts are highly important to one spouse, while another sees fixing a leaky faucet or cooking a meal as filling their "love tank"; some partners might find physical touch valued - holding hands, giving backrubs and sexual contact. Chapman illustrates each love language with real-life examples from his counselling practice.

How do you discover your spouse's - and your own - love language? Read or listen to the audio at: http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/books_married.html

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Here is Some Genuine Advice From Real Women on Our Forum: (Join Now!)

"If you find yourself feeling stressed (during a disagreement) take a walk until you feel better. I had a minister tell me once for my DH and I to go outside and walk in opposite directions around the block that by the time we met halfway we should be more composed. Depending on the size of the block it may take more than one time around the block but it does work. It helped a lot for us. If my DH upsets me (and I don't like to fight nor will I fight in front of my kids) I take a walk until I'm more composed. It is also symbolic of trying to meet your DH "halfway". "

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"As my people say, 'Marrige is not a bed of roses' and even if it is, roses even as beautiful as they are have thorns. Also,there is the saying that 'marriage is like a seed that is planted and will only grow into a beautiful tree with shade if it is watered ,take care of and nourished'.As the tree grows, harsh elements of the environment tries to destroy the tree,but if the tree has taken deep roots,it will stand all that comes to attack it. A marriage is not just an ordinary relationship ,it is something deeper and it is worth fighting for. The two of you should fight to keep it.It is not an easy road,that is why there is a lot of divorces these days. It takes a lot of PATIENCE ! In the days when we had boyfriends,and they misbehaved,we could just walk away and forget the relationship. But in marriage we have to do more than that ,we have to put FORGIVNESS into practise.our spouses will say hurtful things to us or we do the same to them, but in the end, we have to learn to forgive and be forgiven. As Becca said ,what keeps a marriage together and a very important part is COMMUNICATION.A marriage without communication is headed for the hills.A marriage based on attraction or sex is also headed for the hills because, these things wear off or more attractive things comes into view to take place of old attraction. Talk to one another and communicate because nobody is a mind reader."

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"..You really have to be strong for the two of you. Try to make your lives more exciting and your home a fun place to be in. Pray together, because , a family that prays together stays together. Talk to each other and don't scold him over little things because that will make it hard for him to share with you. Encourage him in his work and try and make him discuss his work with you. ... You have to be gentle about it , don't rush, take it one day at a time. Let him trust that you will support and not critize, that you are on his side. Oh! and another thing, men like their women to adore them and look up to them (good for their ego). Be best of friends. Most of the work am sorry to say now will have to be done by you."

DISCLAIMER: The information on this web site is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of physicians or health care practitioners, nor is it intended to diagnose or prescribe treatment for any illness or disorder.  Anyone already undergoing physician-prescribed therapy should seek the advice of his/her doctor before reducing the dosage or stopping such treatment.