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 […]

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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 compared your concern to the housing market. […]

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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. For both […]

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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 than a […]

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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 bond […]

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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 sexual pleasure. […]

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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 of […]

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By Dr. Joel Block
Relationship wisdom is like diet advice, most of it sounds good, but it doesn’t work. Here, the real thing gleaned from many years of treating couples:
1.Very often the initial attraction—what draws you to your lover—becomes, some years later, the basis for divorce.
Remember that guy that you chose because he appeared to be […]

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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 even a fiery […]

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By Joel Block, Ph .D.

Studies have shown that people who have high self-esteem live longer, healthier lives, continue to enjoy sex throughout their lives, and are more optimistic about the future. At midlife, most of us suffer an occasional blow to our esteem. We look in the mirror and recoil at the image of our […]

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