How Strong Are Your Relationships?

Do your relationships make you feel happy? Or empty and used?

Are they full of kindness and joy? Or riddled with conflict and heartache?

Are they helping you be your best self? Or are they holding you back?

“The research-based secret to happiness is high-quality relationships,” says Joneen McKenzie, RN and Founder of the Center for Relationship Education. We all long for that, of course, but maybe you don’t believe it’s even possible. We want you to know it is, and NAME OF CENTER is here to help you unlock the secret.

Come in and we’ll give you a toolbox full of skills to build unbelievably satisfying and healthy relationships. Learn things like:

How to get closer as a couple
How to work through conflict so it’s a win-win
How to choose a good partner
Fun activities to do on date nights
The 5 love languages
How to set healthy boundaries
The impact of stress on relationships
Danger signs of an unhealthy relationship
Good communication strategies
Things that derail relationships
The many sides of You

Where Does Sex Fit In?

Part of healthy relationships is learning what role sex plays, and it can get complicated. That’s why NAME OF CENTER wants to help you evaluate if your sexual choices are putting you at risk.

The first area of sexual risk is to your current and future physical health, with the most familiar consequence being pregnancy. Facing an unexpected pregnancy leaves you with critical choices that will affect you long term. NAME OF CENTER offers clinical, confidential pregnancy tests at no cost, along with information on your options if a test is positive.

A less familiar but greater risk of sexual activity is contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) or disease (STD). Because the level of risk grows in direct proportion to the number of partners you’ve had, it is imperative that you learn the dangers that these infections pose.

There are more than 20 types of STDs and STIs, including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, and syphilis.
Half of the 20 million STDs reported each year are among young people 15-24 years old.
Some STDs are curable; some aren’t.
Many have no or few symptoms.
Some can be contracted through oral sex.
STDs can put your pregnancy at risk, and some can even be passed on to your baby.
If you are pregnant and considering abortion, an STD can cause complications and pose serious danger if left untreated.
Some STDS can jeopardize your hopes for having a family by causing infertility.
The HPV STD is responsible for up to 90% of all cervical cancers.
Some STDs can lead to an ectopic pregnancy, which can be life threatening.
Having an STD increases your susceptibility to contracting HIV.

All of these are important reasons for you to get tested for STDs annually if you are sexually active. NAME OF CENTER offers no-cost STI tests for the most common sexually transmitted infections and provides no-cost treatment. Our medical staff reviews the results of these tests with you, along with options regarding your sexual health going forward.

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Beyond the Physical

Physical consequences of having sex are a bit more obvious, but your emotional and relational health can also be at risk. Unhealthy relationships and sexual activity can lead to:

What Now?

It is never too late to make your future better than your past. Even though you can’t change where you came from, you CAN decide what kind of life you’ll create for yourself going forward. So, spend some time working on YOU.

“You deserve to be respected in your relationships,” says Pamela Stenzel, MFT and Senior Regional Clinic Coordinator for Community Pregnancy Clinics. “That’s why it’s so important to evaluate your sexual, emotional and relational health so you can make good decisions. These mentors and relationship coaches are here to help you do just that.”

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Article available in Spanish here.