How to Fight with your Husband (or Wife)
By Dr. Joel Block While all couples fight, at least occasionally, it is very easy to fight about blurred issues. The real issues remain untouched while the emotions roar and the words fly, all in the wrong direction. Here are several suggestions for the good fight, or better yet, a discussion that isn’t shadowed [...]
Interview with an Aging Penis
By Joel Block, Ph.D. JB: So, what’s up? AP (Aging Penis): Is that your attempt at humor? Not funny! The future has me worried. Kinda like the housing market. The forecast is soft. JB: Sorry. I should have known that it’s hard, uh, difficult looking into an uncertain future. But, you’ve [...]
Sex after 50: Can the Promise Deliver?
By Dr. Joel Block Of the many forms of intimacy—a smile across the room, a shared hardship, a family ritual, a kiss, a touch—sex is probably fraught with more confusion, unrealistic expectations, misunderstanding, and disillusionment than any other. The Promise Sex promises emotional fulfillment, security, reassurance, and intimacy, even if it often fails to deliver. [...]
‘Afterplay’: Think of it as Dessert.
By Dr. Joel Block After having an intimate and passionate lovemaking experience, don’t leave! There’s desert, in the form of ‘afterplay.’ Afterplay describes whatever a couple does immediately following lovemaking, most often cuddling, caressing, and sharing intimate thoughts. Stay with it! This experience, described in my book, “Secrets of Better Sex,” may last no more [...]
6 Eye-Opening Tips for Great Sex after 50.
By Dr. Joel Block Attention Boomers! Rekindle the flame and turn up the heat with these six suggestions. 1. Open your eyes occasionally while kissing. The visual stimulation will probably increase your arousal, as well as provide your partner useful feedback on how you are feeling about the kiss. Some studies have suggested that men [...]
5 Ways to Overcome Mental Sex Hang-ups after 50
By Joel Block, Ph.D Using age as an excuse The obstacles to great sex are not age-related factors. Anyone at any age can suffer from boredom, be “too busy” for sex, or let duties get in the way of pleasures. But some people use age as an excuse for failing to surmount these obstacles to [...]
The Challenge of Accepting Yourself, Blemishes and all.
By Joel Block, Ph.D. Lily ruminates about her failed marriage, beating herself up for mistakes she’s made and opportunities she’s missed. Tom, a recovering alcoholic, obsesses about the years he lost to booze and castigates himself for the people he hurt and the relationships he damaged. For Lily and Tom, both in the third act [...]
Why Long-time Married Couples Fight
By Dr Joel Block Often, what couples term “boredom” is a cover-up for long-standing but hidden resentment. The operative word here is “hidden.” Nearly every couple is going to experience flare-ups in response to an immediate situation, the occasional squabble, the slamming-door exit or the exasperated burst of tears. Anger can help but… Squabbles and [...]
Optimism and Pessimism and your Sex Life after 50
By Joel Block Ph.D. Losing enthusiasm Some people lost their enthusiasm for life as a natural result of losing their sense of optimism. They have allowed negative life experiences, difficult challenges, rejections, or setbacks to quell their sense of hope in the future. By middle age, the habit of pessimism has begun to take a [...]
Fear of Intimacy after 50 and Your Sex Life
By Joel Block Ph.D. Is this you? You may have noticed them sitting at a nearby table in a restaurant. Well-dressed, middle-aged, attractive, the man and woman exchange few words. When they speak, they look past each other as often as they look at each other. They are together, but they don’t connect. Most observers [...]
How to Repair a Broken Trust
By Dr. Joel Block(Part One) There are two main ways for the offender (and the offended) to make things worse when confronted with a trust violation: One is withdrawal, to keep everything bottled up inside. The other is to erupt, to emote without restraint. If you are having too many conversations with yourself, you are [...]
Infidelity and other ways to Cheat
By Joel Block, Ph.D. Sexual infidelity is the headline grabber when most people think about betrayals in love relationships. But, there are everyday breaches of trust that slide under the radar and can erode even the strongest of relationships. A small lie about a purchase, a slight exaggeration about a job promotion, a cover-up about [...]
