Unless you are able to learn from and heal your fears, you may get stuck in this negative pattern. Love quickly vanishes in the face of this closed, protective behavior.

When two people come together because they want to learn together, grow together, heal together, share their time and companionship, and share their love and passion, they have a good chance of creating a lasting, loving relationship.

We're all a little anxious about intimacy, aren't we? After all, letting people in is inherently risky. Which means that even though we won't all go to extremes, everyone's at risk for the occasional retreat -- and technology offers plenty of places to hide.

admit, I have not read 50 Shades of Grey. Because of that, I wouldn't pretend to know what either the storyline or the writing style says about female sexuality.

To be able to recognize and separate from destructive voices, we must first recognize that many thoughts we regard as our own point of view may not really be representative of our true self.

In the end, fear is fear, and we either accept the task of working with it consciously and diligently or we walk away from loving, solid relationships with the erroneous belief that "It just didn't feel right. If it was right, I wouldn't have to work so hard."

As a therapist, I often hear couples complain that whenever one partner tries to get close, the other pulls away. It's a painful reality that love isn't always as easy to give and receive as we'd like to think.

We all desire that deeply fulfilling experience of emotional intimacy, yet many people have two fears in the way of intimacy. Here's what these fears are and how to heal them.

How do the stories in the media explain the increase in the number of single people and decrease in the number of married Americans? One explanation did not seem to occur to anyone.

New York Times reporter John Tierney recently described a study that supposedly showed that "single women are particularly drawn to other people's partners." But his interpretation is not supported by relevant data.

The only alternative is to come to terms with the dangers and uncertainties that accompany enduring and erotically charged romantic love, to summon the bravery to remain thrilled by someone we love.