Love cycles

"The notions that passion always peters out, that there's a "seven-year itch," and that honeymoons are over once reality sets in are cliche;s with truth to them. But that doesn't mean that long-term love is impossible. As veteran couples therapist Linda Carroll shows, love "cycles," including Doubt and Denial, are part of genuine intimacy, rather than signs of its demise. In fact, asserts Carroll, it is by courageously moving through what comes after the rapturous initial Merge cycle that we get to authentic intimate relationship. As crucial as our willingness to navigate stormy waters of…