"The office saved us" illusion [and we divorced]

Dr Sarah: Relationship Success Lab

Welcome to Dr Sarah: Relationship Success Lab, where high achievers, executives, and entrepreneurs explore relationship fitness, healing from relationship trauma, and creating secure, trusting, and loving partnerships. Designed for those navigating high-stakes careers and relationships, we dive into trauma-informed coaching, relationship wellbeing, and practical strategies to recover from trauma bonding and build meaningful connections. Save your marriage, start building secure relationships and optimizing your relationship wellbeing.
You may think diving into 'doing more' and being a 'good provider' will save you both.
It doesn't.
Key points covered include:

1. Emotional Disconnect: Highly motivated individuals often focus so much on work that they neglect the emotional connection with their partner, creating a functional but distant relationship. The speaker highlights that this emotional gap can lead to serious issues, citing research from the Gottman Institute, which shows 80% of couples who experience disconnection for over a year end in divorce.
2. Avoidance of Conflict: Many high achievers use work as a way to avoid confronting difficult situations at home. Instead of resolving conflicts, they retreat into their jobs, believing that by working hard, they are indirectly supporting their partner. However, this avoidance worsens the relationship in the long term.
3. False Sense of Stability: Success at work can create a temporary high and a sense of stability. However, this is misleading because the excitement from work isn't genuine emotional connection. Over time, the emotional distance grows, and partners may find themselves feeling like strangers to one another.
4. Long-term Consequences: Emotional distance is a major factor in the breakdown of relationships, and the speaker warns that focusing too much on the functionality of the relationship (e.g., roles like earning money or managing household tasks) without true emotional intimacy can have dire long-term effects.

Support the show

Let’s develop relationship fitness and cultivate fulfilling, secure, and loving relationships.

Specialising in relationships, attachment problems and trauma bonding, Dr Sarah is on a mission to help you end negative cycles, create a secure relationship template, improve communication, rebuild trust, and strengthen emotional intimacy. Stop self-sabotaging behaviours now and begin to self-actualise.

Working with business leaders, entrepreneurs, high achievers and perfectionists. Whether you are wanting to strengthen your current relationship and save your marriage, or you are healing from heartbreak to start a fresh, set yourself up for relationship success.
Get marriage counselling near you in person or online, sign up to one of Dr Sarah's luxury retreats, and continue your path to success.
www.relationshipsuccesslab.com

Sign up to the exclusive retreat: www.relationshipsuccesslab.com/retreat
Contact: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Dr Sarah (Alsawy) Davies

Instagram handle: @dr.sarahalsawy
Find resources on: https://www.relationshipsuccesslab.com/relationship-quiz
Subscribe to Dr Sarah: Relationship Success Lab on Spotify or Apple Podcasts