Q&A with Dr. Bonnie Weil
New Life Only a Click Away
I recently saw a heart-breaking story in The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/fashion/in-a-divorce-the-clicks-of-a-mouse-modern-love.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&ref=fashion&src=me from a woman whose husband had been having an affair with a woman he met online, unbeknown to her. Perhaps even more tragically, this story is not that uncommon. In fact there are a number of statistics that reveal how widespread this has become:
Internet users devote three hours per week to online sexual exploits (MSNBC.com)
- -Statistics show more than 72,000 sexually explicit sites on the web and an estimated 266 new porn sites being added each day. These sites alone generate a revenue of $1 billion dollars each year.
(Harding Institute) - One in 10 respondents said they are addicted to sex and the Internet
(MSNBC.com and Dr. Alvin Cooper)
It’s become overly simple to meet someone online for sex – in fact it’s more difficult to avoid these types of propositions than it is to take advantage of them, as the woman in the article found when, following her divorce, she did a little online sex research of her own:
[After posting my ad] I refreshed my e-mail and a dozen more replies showed up. Within the hour I had more than 100. I was appalled but also flattered
Needless to say, these types of encounters are easy to procure and appear much less high-risk than attempting to pick someone up in real life. However, the real life consequences are just as devastating. It’s a way of over-riding true emotions by opting for a “high” of a sexual encounter instead. It could be the case that people looking for casual encounters via the internet are seeking out a way to mask the fact that they don’t want to deal with their emotions or don’t know how to engage in true intimacy. It’s a way of acting out – not talking out – extreme feelings in a person’s life. People who utilize the internet for these types of “relationships” are typically just in it for the high the feel in the moment without examining what’s making them seek that high.
When one person in a couple suffers from this need for thrill-seeking behavior it’s imperative that the person communicate with their partner – and with themselves – as to what’s leading them into this pattern. As I suggest in the documentary, Unfaithful (featured on the OWN Network), it’s imperative to dig deeper than indulging a momentary desire and learn what feeds the need to act in such a way.
In this sense, the course of action for dealing with this behavior is the same as if it weren’t fueled by technology. However the ever-presence of sex online has made this type of thrill-seeking much more accessible, and seem much less risky. This perception is just not true. Engaging in an affair – online, offline or otherwise – is fraught with risk and reveals relationship shortcomings that need to be talked out, not acted out.
Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil, PhD, author of the 2010 NY Times Reader’s Choice Award winning book Make Up Don’t Break Up with accompanying DVD Falling in Love and Staying In Love counsels couples considering breaking up, people who have committed adultery, and couples who want to strengthen their relationships damaged by resentment or unresolved anger, teaching people to “fight” to increase passion, bring back magic and restore the sizzle. Dr. Bonnie teaches Smart Heart Dialogue along with communication and connection tools, and counsels families and children.
Known as “The Adultery Buster” and the “No. 1 Love Expert,” she is the best-selling author of Adultery: The Forgivable Sin (adapted into a Lifetime movie starring actress Kate Jackson) Coming Nov 2011 as eBook, Make Up Don’t Break Up, Finding and Keeping Love for Singles and Couples (Revised edition Feb 2010, including DVD How to Fall in Love and Stay in Love for Singles and Couples), Can We Cure and Forgive Adultery?, How Not to (S)mother Your Man and Keep a Woman Happy, and Financial Infidelity.
Dr. Bonnie has appeared on a Discovery Health documentary titled “Unfaithful” and A&E on addictions. ABC’s Good Morning America, a three-day series on NBC’s The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show five times, a four day series on Fox TV regarding dating. She appears frequently on ABC, Fox, CBS and NBC News, The View, 20/20, and CNN. Visit Dr. Bonnie at http://www.DoctorBonnie.com.
How to Save the Love of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries… and they said it wouldn’t last!
Upon the news of the pending divorce between Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries, Dr. Bonnie Weil weighs on on what may have caused this domino effect of Lust/Love. This is a good example of when the “honeymoan” stage takes and sweeps a person into a different level. They say parents are better at picking a partner as people get swept away in the new love feeling. When the honeymoon ends, the power struggle begins… that is the beginning of the end!
“The endorphins from the honeymoon stage have worn off, and what you are left with is reality! We love the feeling of euphoria and utopia of the honeymoon stage.” says Dr. Bonnie. A couple must have a good foundation and the tools, in which Dr Bonnie provides with her ground breaking Smart Heart Skills and Dialogue in which have saved 98% of the couples she counsels. Dr. Bonnie teaches her patients that the the bridge to real-life love is stopping along the way to the power struggle stage. “We always pick a person that gives us the most trouble, so we can grow and become a better person. The thing that you love about your partner in the beginning you end up hating in the end. It wears on you like chalk on a black board!” Dr. Bonnie sees often in her practice. Smart heart Skills and Dialogue gives you the “know how” to navigate after the heart pounding honeymoon stage to the comfort, safe, real life love stage. “The problem is most don’t hang around long enough to get to the real life love because they don’t believe and know how to do it” says Dr. Bonnie. “They leave when the going gets rough instead of staying the course. This is what is wrong with Narcissistic “Greed/Me” generation that we live in.” states Dr. Bonnie.
According to The New York Post http://tinyurl.com/3zojvxx Kris Humphries learned of the divorce filing via TMZ just as the world found out. “This is the ultimate betrayal finding out via media, it is very hostile way to get back at a person.” quotes Dr. Bonnie.
Dr. Bonnie feels “Kim fell in love with love. Her biological clock is ticking and she may have felt pressure from the nuptials of her sister Khloe and the baby of sister Kourtney. Love is like the game monopoly. They went to the power struggle stage from honeymoon and did not pass Go. They jumped out too soon.” Everybody wants everything now but it is through the struggle that we become stronger and closer, that power struggle is what bonds a couple. They allowed that struggle to break them instead of strengthen them.
Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil (Dr. Bonnie) is a relationship expert who was named by Psychology Today as one of America’s best therapists, and by New York Magazine as one of New York City’s best therapists. She was recently honored with the 2011 New York Award in the Physicians category by the USCA “Best of Local Business Award. She is known as “The Adultery Buster” and the “No. 1 Love Expert,” she is the best-selling author of Adultery: The Forgivable Sin (adapted into a Lifetime movie starring actress Kate Jackson), Make Up Don’t Break Up, Finding and Keeping Love for Singles and Couples (Revised edition Feb 2010, including DVD How to Fall in Love and Stay in Love for Singles and Couples) and winner of the NY Times Reader’s Choice award for best dating book 2010, Can We Cure and Forgive Adultery?, Staying Not Straying, How Not to (S)mother Your Man and Keep a Woman Happy, and Financial Infidelity (Making Money Sexy).
Dr. Bonnie has appeared on a Discovery Health documentary titled “Unfaithful” and A&E on addictions. ABC’s Good Morning America, a three-day series on NBC’s The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show five times, a four day series on Fox TV regarding dating. She appears frequently on ABC, Fox, CBS and NBC News, The View, 20/20, and CNN.
Another Reason to Love Marriage: Longevity
New York, NY…………… If you feel like fixing the car one more time or taking out another load of laundry might kill you – think again. Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil, Ph.D, comments on a study revealing that getting married could extend your life for up to 17 years: “In this case, a longer lifespan likely has to do with human touch and interaction. For example, babies can thrive without sight, without smell, even without hearing. But they cannot thrive without being touched.”
The study published in the American Journal Of Epidemiology shows that single men have a 32 percent higher chance of death across their lifetimes than their married counter parts. This means that they could die eight to 17 years prior to the average married man. Statistics for women are better: they face a life expectancy shortened by about seven to 15 years on average.
The lack of continued attention and affection over a lifetime can manifest in what Dr. Bonnie calls a Bio-chemical Craving for Connection, due to dealing with things like stress, separation and loss. People who experience this craving are more likely to engage in risky behaviors as they seek out a “high” that will mitigate the pain they’ve experienced.
Conversely, people in relationships typically receive a positive type of “high” without even knowing it. “Oxytocin, the “cuddle hormone,” provides warmth and security,” explains Dr. Bonnie. Love reduces stress and makes a person happy.” Touch is important – we see that much from the start of our lives: infants deprived of affection will literally perish from a syndrome called “failure to thrive”. “Babies can thrive without sight, without smell, even without hearing. But they cannot thrive without being touched,” says Dr. Bonnie Weil. This is something that doesn’t change much over our lifetimes – as adults we still thrive most in affectionate environments.
Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil (Dr. Bonnie) is a relationship expert who was named by Psychology Today as one of America’s best therapists, and by New York Magazine as one of New York City’s best therapists. Her book, Make Up Don’t Break Up recently won the New York Times “Relationship Book of the Year” award.
Known as “The Adultery Buster” and the “No. 1 Love Expert,” she is the best-selling author of Adultery: The Forgivable Sin (adapted into a Lifetime movie starring actress Kate Jackson), Make Up Don’t Break Up, Finding and Keeping Love for Singles and Couples (Revised edition Feb 2010, including DVD How to Fall in Love and Stay in Love for Singles and Couples), Can We Cure and Forgive Adultery?, Staying Not Straying, How Not to (S)mother Your Man and Keep a Woman Happy, and Financial Infidelity (Making Money Sexy).
Renee Talon, Renee at DoctorBonnie dot com or phone 941-429-8803
Dr. Bonnie has 2 Press Release writers. Available if anyone would like to speak about our services.
Is Sex Higher During Hurricanes?
New York, NY……..People in areas of the country that rarely see any inclement weather besides snow, are prepping for a hurricane this weekend. People typically spend more time inside during a hurricane than they would even in a snow storm, and they may be edgy about the weather.
This, says Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil, gives couples a chance to connect and spend more time together than they would normally. In her book, Make Up, Don’t Break Up, Dr.Bonnie mentions that weather can be a catalyst for physical intimacy. It’s of course important to do everything possible to stay safe physically, but there are some emotional benefits to be gleaned from this experience if we can slow down and notice them.
Conversely, bad weather can make people nervous, claustrophobic, foster addictions and increase eating. Some people may use this as an excuse to further their bad habits, but instead of relying on these crutches – which really just exacerbate the stress and nervousness – make time with your partner for snuggling, talking and kissing. Don’t just watch television, says Dr. Bonnie! Instead, use this time productively, to connect with your partner and deal with any problems that arise in a healthy way.
And stay safe!
Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil (Dr. Bonnie) is a relationship expert who was named by Psychology Today as one of America’s best therapists, and by New York Magazine as one of New York City’s best therapists. Her book, Make Up Don’t Break Up recently won the New York Times “Relationship Book of the Year” award.
Known as “The Adultery Buster” and the “No. 1 Love Expert,” she is the best-selling author of Adultery: The Forgivable Sin (adapted into a Lifetime movie starring actress Kate Jackson), Make Up Don’t Break Up, Finding and Keeping Love for Singles and Couples (Revised edition Feb 2010, including DVD How to Fall in Love and Stay in Love for Singles and Couples), Can We Cure and Forgive Adultery?, Staying Not Straying, How Not to (S)mother Your Man and Keep a Woman Happy, and Financial Infidelity (Making Money Sexy).
Renee Talon, Renee at DoctorBonnie dot com or phone 941-429-8803Dr. Bonnie has 2 Press Release writers. Available if anyone would like to speak about our services.
Creating a Sex Scandal Without Sex
After the discovery of New York’s Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner’s provocative twitters to women—his job, reputation, and possibly marriage is in jeopardy. “We must stop looking at this type of behavior as ‘bad boy’ antics and see it as a disease,” Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil explains.
“We have gone from glamorizing infidelity to bastardizing it. It is now time to look at the underlying reasons for straying, cheating, and in the age of social media and Weiner’s case, ‘creating a sex scandal without sex’, explains Weil.
The newest revelation in this ongoing scandal and ensuing government ethics investigation adds another layer of complication to Weiner’s personal life. It has been reported that his wife, Huma Abedin, is pregnant. At a time when a woman needs her man most, Weiner is consumed with his own problems. The inclination to blame him for the inability to control his impulses is unfair according to Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil, PhD, and NY Times Reader’s Choice award winning author of Make Up Don’t Break Up. Weil teaches couples another way to view this problem and offers her formula for treating the disease of infidelity.
“People who engage in this type of behavior usually have a high percentage stress, loss, suffer from separation from their partner, and are thrill seeking for the purpose of self soothing. They have what I call—a “Bio chemical craving for connection”. These elements are present in all of the high profile cheaters we have recently witnessed: Tiger Woods, Eliot Spitzer, David Letterman, John Edwards, and most recently Arnold Swarzenegger. When couples come to me, I test the adulterer for chemical imbalances, provide safe and restorative therapy, and teach both partners how to find the underlying reasons for cheating, take responsibility, stop blaming, and begin rebuilding their relationship.”
While our new age of social media has added a variety of opportunities to loosen the boundaries of social interaction, couples now have something else to consider in their relationship. “Not all partners agree that online flirting is taboo, and many couples might not agree on the definition of electronic flirting. This is a discussion all couples should have, and come to agreements and/or compromises,” warns Dr. Bonnie, who considers ‘sexting’ and online flirting a variation of and just as dangerous as cheating.
Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil (Dr. Bonnie) is a relationship expert who was named by Psychology Today as one of America’s best therapists, and by New York Magazine as one of New York City’s best therapists. Known as “The Adultery Buster” and the “No. 1 Love Expert,” she is the best-selling author of Adultery: The Forgivable Sin (adapted into a Lifetime movie starring actress Kate Jackson), Make Up Don’t Break Up, Finding and Keeping Love for Singles and Couples (Revised edition Feb 2010, including DVD How to Fall in Love and Stay in Love for Singles and Couples) and winner of the NY Times Reader’s Choice award for best dating book 2010, Can We Cure and Forgive Adultery?, Staying Not Straying, How Not to (S)mother Your Man and Keep a Woman Happy, and Financial Infidelity (Making Money Sexy).
Dr. Bonnie has appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America, a three-day series on NBC’s The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show five times, a four day series on Fox TV regarding dating, Discovery Health documentary “Infidelity” and A&E on addictions. She appears frequently on ABC, Fox, CBS and NBC News, The View, 20/20, and CNN. Visit Dr. Bonnie at www.DoctorBonnie.com.
Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil, PhD, author of the NY Times Reader’s Choice Award winning book Make Up Don’t Break Up with accompanying DVD Falling in Love and Staying In Love counsels couples considering breaking up, people who have committed adultery, and couples who want to strengthen their relationships damaged by resentment or unresolved anger, teaching people to “fight” to increase passion, bring back magic and restore the sizzle. Dr. Bonnie teaches Smart Heart Dialogue along with communication and connection tools, and counsels families and children.
For interview contact Diane Dennis, Inspired Media Communication at 503-678-1356 or dianeden@centurytel.net
The Unforgiving Sin
While I always say that Adultery is the Forgivable Sin, some cheating circumstances are not easily forgiven. As I said in a recent USA Today article on the Shriver/Swarzenegger split, “That Schwarzenegger was able to keep the secret for ten years speaks to an emotional deficiency.”
This type of betrayal cannot be forgiven with a simple “I’m sorry.” The circumstances surrounding his cheating will affect his family for generations to come. The fact that his children are old enough to see the news, and read about the details of the affair will make it more difficult for them to heal. In fact these children will be forever scarred, and the legacy of adultery will affect generations to come. I always say that most marriages can be saved, if key issues like adultery are dealt with in a timely matter. In Swarzenegger’s case, trust has been violated by the fact that he waited over ten years to divulge the fact that he fathered a son by a family housekeeper. The timing of his confession to his wife and publicly is also suspect due to the fact that he waited until he was no longer in public office to tell the truth.
My book Adultery the Forgivable Sin outlines the characteristics of a person who cheats, and Arnold fits the bill. A cheater can be described as a thrill seeking person with a high stress and/or high profile career, who is seeking a biochemical craving for connection. Fidelity is a choice. When a person chooses to violate their promise of trust, there will be much work to do for the entire family to heal.
The wounds from this infidelity will run deep for years for all parties involved. To be betrayed in the family home is an unforgivable sin and a hostile act.
Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil (Dr. Bonnie) is a relationship expert who was named by Psychology Today as one of America’s best therapists, and by New York Magazine as one of New York City’s best therapists. Known as “The Adultery Buster” and the “No. 1 Love Expert,” she is the best-selling author of Adultery: The Forgivable Sin (adapted into a Lifetime movie starring actress Kate Jackson), Make Up Don’t Break Up, Finding and Keeping Love for Singles and Couples (Revised edition Feb 2010, including DVD How to Fall in Love and Stay in Love for Singles and Couples) and winner of the NY Times Reader’s Choice award for best dating book 2010, Can We Cure and Forgive Adultery?, Staying Not Straying, How Not to (S)mother Your Man and Keep a Woman Happy, and Financial Infidelity (Making Money Sexy).
Dr. Bonnie has appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America, a three-day series on NBC’s The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show five times, a four day series on Fox TV regarding dating, Discovery Health documentary “Infidelity” and A&E on addictions. She appears frequently on ABC, Fox, CBS and NBC News, The View, 20/20, and CNN. Visit Dr. Bonnie at www.DoctorBonnie.com.
Dr. Bonnie has appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America, a three-day series on NBC’s The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show five times, a four day series on Fox TV regarding dating, Discovery Health documentary “Infidelity” and A&E on addictions. She appears frequently on ABC, Fox, CBS and NBC News, The View, 20/20, and CNN. Visit Dr. Bonnie at www.DoctorBonnie.com.
Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil, PhD, author of the NY Times Reader’s Choice Award winning book Make Up Don’t Break Up with accompanying DVD Falling in Love and Staying In Love counsels couples considering breaking up, people who have committed adultery, and couples who want to strengthen their relationships damaged by resentment or unresolved anger, teaching people to “fight” to increase passion, bring back magic and restore the sizzle. Dr. Bonnie teaches Smart Heart Dialogue along with communication and connection tools, and counsels families and children.
For interview contact Diane Dennis, Inspired Media Communication at 503-678-1356 or dianeden@centurytel.net
Make Up Don’t Break Up wins Reader’s Choice Award for Best Dating Book 2010
Make Up Don’t Break Up wins Reader’s Choice Award for Best Dating Book 2010
Best selling author and founder of Imago Relationship International Dr. Harville Hendrix, PhD (dubbed the “Marriage Whisperer” by Oprah) writes in the foreword: “This is among the most helpful, complete, and positive manuals for saving a relationship that I have seen.”
New York, NY………Make Up Don’t Break Up with accompanying DVD Falling in Love and Staying In Love by Bonnie Eaker Weil, PhD is the 2010 winner of the Reader’s Choice Award for Best Dating Book.
Author Dr. Weil is dedicated to assisting singles and couples learn how to communicate using her Smart Heart Dialogue for the purpose of developing sustainable and emotionally intimate relationships. This book is for individuals who can’t find or keep lasting and loving relationships teaching how to get past the third date, and learn how not to sabotage a relationship. The book instructs couples how to heal childhood wounds through their partnerships.
The author walks readers through the many stages of a relationship’s connections and disconnections so that couples will be able to reconnect and solidify their relationships—and recapture the euphoric feelings of first love.
With infidelity and divorce at an all time high, and so many more opportunities to cheat through internet portals like Facebook and online dating services, Make Up Don’t Break Up offers insights, tools, and information about how couples can keep love alive and stay together when issues arise by using Smart Heart Dialogue techniques in communication, listening, and working together for mutual relationship goals.
Dr. Bonnie is a trained and certified Imago Relationship Therapist. Best selling author and founder of Imago Relationship International Dr. Harville Hendrix, PhD (dubbed the “Marriage Whisperer” by Oprah) writes in the foreword: “This is among the most helpful, complete, and positive manuals for saving a relationship that I have seen.”
One in five American divorces now involve Facebook
One in five American divorces now involve Facebook, according to experts (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1334482/The-marriage-killer-One-American-divorces-involve-Facebook.html). There is no doubt that online chatting offers new temptations. Curiosity can quickly shift to accelerated excitement when you look up an old flame and the chats turn flirty.
“Americans have the highest rate of romantic breakup in the world,” says Andrew J. Cherlin, professor of sociology and public policy at Johns Hopkins, in an article from Psychology Today. Cherlin attributes this high rate of breaking up on high expectations, and dangerous distractions.
Couples have more options with the Internet, online dating services, and Facebook connecting old lovers. We must counteract these tempting dalliances by revitalizing our own relationships.
People don’t stray in a relationship when they have enticements and unexpected surprises from their partners. I advise couples to spend time doing challenging activities that capture the excitement of the early days in their relationships.
And, don’t forget to cuddle. When you are adored, and have physical contact with your partner it increases the bonding hormone Oxytocin, turning partners away from porn, the blackberry mistress and the pitfalls of Facebook socializing.
In my book Make Up Don’t Break Up with accompanying DVD Falling in Love and Staying in Love, I teach couples and individuals how to find, keep, and sustain loving relationships. I’m so pleased to announce that Make Up Don’t Break Up is nominated for the Reader’s Choice Award for Best Dating Book 2010. My readers can vote with a chance to win our contest for $150 gift certificates. Hurry, voting ends March 8th. Find details on my home page at www.doctorbonnie.com.
Valentine’s Day: The Real Story
Why do men “accidentally forget” to buy their wife/lover a gift?
Why are women already mad before Valentine’s day? Year after year, either their husbands “forget” or have an excuse why they can’t honor them on V Day.
Dr. Bonnie says they either:
- have underlying anger
- have resentment
- don’t want to be told what to do
- feel under-appreciated
- Have negative feelings about their wife, but have no idea what or why
They may make the “excuse” that it is a Hallmark Holiday, is made up for retail stores to make money, they don’t know what to get her, she has everything, they don’t know how to shop…..etc.
Dr. Bonnie has recommendations for women on how to avoid a Valentine’s blow up:
- Ask him what he wants? Go shopping with him before VDay
- Go to the store with him for him to get a card, etc
- Reward him with sex after he has shopped for her
- Sit down and ask him in a non threatening way what he is feeling (have Smart Heart Talk)
More tips can be found in the book Make Up Don’t Break Up with accompanying DVD Falling in Love and Staying in Love for Singles and Couples!