Book Report: 'Hold Me Tight'

Now that I have plenty of time on my hands, being unemployed, I am reading the books that I have heard about or have been assigned that I have never had the time to read until now. One of those is Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by Dr. Sue Johnson. It was assigned for my Marriage and Family Counseling class at seminary and my professor said it was spot-on.

so far:

"Distressed partners may use different words but they are always asking the same basic questions, 'Are you there for me? Do I matter to you? Will you come when I need you, when I call?'"

"Distress in a relationship adversely affects our immune and hormonal systems, and even our ability to heal. In one fascinating experiment, psychologist Janice Kiecolt-Glaser of Ohio State University had newlyweds fight, then took blood samples over the next several hours. She found that he more belligerent and contemptuous the partners were, the higher the level of stress hormones and the more depressed the immune system. The effects persisted for up to twenty-four hours. In an even more astounding study, Kiecolt-Glaser used a vacuum pump to produce small blisters on the hands of women volunteers, then had them fight wit their husbands. The nastier the fight, the longer it took for the woman's skin to heal." (p.25)

-- I discussed this last one with Alexis and Allie the other day and Alexis said that this makes sense because when we are loved we are more like whom we are supposed to be - like pre-Fall garden perfect, when we could experience the full loving relationship that we had with God.