WORTHINGTON, Ohio — Couples go all out for Valentine’s Day with flowers, candy and jewelry. But a Worthington-based dating expert who owns her own company believes relationships are really about the little moments every day.
Dr. Meghna Mahambrey founded "Spark - Relationship and Sexual Wellness." She’s a published author with a Ph.D. in human development and family science. She offers individualized coaching and group workshops. Her business launched in February 2020 right before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In some ways, it was almost a gift because I think it's when people needed relationship advice the most,” she said. “Up until then, we fell into other roles that we have - like being roommates, co-parents, busy with our jobs and social lives. Often times our relationships get pushed to the back-burner and obviously what the pandemic did was strip away distractions.”
She said there are five areas where couples typically struggle or see conflict.
“Communication, money, housework, children, co-parenting and physical intimacy,” she said. ”Those seem to be the buckets that tend to be what catches a lot of the problems and tend to be the areas where I work with couples the most.”
She said the key is starting the conversation early.
“One of the biggest misconceptions is that you don't need to start working on your relationship until you have problems,” she said. “So there's kind of this intervention mindset where, ‘we're fine, we're fine, we're fine, we don't need help,’ then suddenly years down the road you're wrapped up in all of this stuff and all of this sadness.”
Mahambrey also offers help to those who are single. She said dating apps can offer options but you need to have self-reflection first.
“There's a phenomenon called the paradox of choice which means that actually having more choices doesn't make it easier, it makes it harder,” she said. “You are constantly second-guessing, 'oh could I find someone else? What about the next swipe?' So what that does is create a lot of psychological stress and discord and then suddenly you're not happy with anything. Is it possible that you dove into dating without getting crystal clear on what it is that you actually want?”
Mahambrey said - when it comes to all of the options - this phrase can be helpful: "the grass is always greener where you water it."
You can learn more about Mahambrey’s workshops and coaching by clicking here.
