That may seem like an odds subject for a Houston relationship counseling blog, but bear with me. What does every toddler want from mom and dad, more than anything else? It isn’t love – it’s attention.

If you’re a parent, then you know the mantra of young kids everywhere: “Watch me, mommy! Watch me, daddy!” When we’re little, we need attention to validate ourselves and define our self-importance, and we don’t really have a clear understanding that other people are, well, people. Our life is all about us, and the people around us are just supporting characters who exist to stroke our ego and help us do whatever it is that we want to do.

Luckily, this is a phase that we grow out of as we get older and start to recognize that we’re not the center of the universe – at least, most of us do!

Houston Relationship Counseling: Facebook and the “Me” Show

Unfortunately, there’s a growing trend among adults who frequent social media sites to obsess over every little detail of their life – and expect others to do the same. They post constantly about the most mundane things, and if their “friends” don’t give them validation in the form of Likes, comments, +1s, and so on, it can be a crushing blow.

When this phenomenon happens in relationships, it’s not uncommon for it to cause problems between couples and cause them to seek out marriage help. After all, how can you be expected to be okay with the fact that the person closest to you isn’t glued to every little drama in your life?

Worse, some people have even gotten into the habit of sharing personal information about their relationship and their better half online. Often they’ll pose it as their attempt to solicit advice, but most of the time it’s really just a way to garner attention. And as you might imagine, many spouses take this as a betrayal of trust.

And it’s just as bad when people become so self-obsessed that they can’t even take the time out to care about what’s going on with their partner. Couples drift apart and relationships break down because individuals become lost in their own little world where they are the star.

Learn to Look at Others in Houston Relationship Counseling

Somewhat ironically, the only real way to solve this problem is to encourage people to become more self-aware. Their tendency will be to interrupt and direct conversations back to them, so they have to actively work on listening to others, empathizing with their problems, and looking outside of themselves. This can be a long and arduous process, but Houston relationship counseling can provide the marriage help you need.