Dating can be an absolute nightmare for shy people. You want to meet the right person, but you're too scared to do anything about it. Sticking out one's hand and looking another person in the eye -- can be terrifying. The brain locks up as you scramble to think of something relevant to say. You fall apart as soon as you're asked what you do for a living. You stammer.

The heat rises in your face and under your arms. You're suddenly incapable of forming a grammatical sentence. You think to yourself, "Why would anyone care about me? I'm really not that interesting!"

Here is the bottom-line truth we discovered from our decades of work with couples in long-term relationships: People can endure long-term relationships in many ways, but they will only thrive if they do five things. In other words, you can grow older with your partner in many ways, but you will only grow closer and more creative through the steady practice of five actions.

We believe these five actions should be taught in every classroom in every school, every day. They most definitely should not be secrets we have to seek or stumble onto by trial and error. Yet they are. Almost none of us begin our love relationships knowing how to do these simple things, and our relationships are disastrous as a consequence.

Is planning a huge wedding making you crazy? Trust me, a big wedding plan could even potentially do damages to your marriage. Why not have a small wedding instead? Christina Friedrichsen offers these 10 reasons to plan an intimate wedding.

1. You get to celebrate one of the biggest days of your life surrounded by people who love you. Of the nearly 100 couples I interviewed for my book, almost everyone said this was definitely one of the best things about having a small wedding. 

2. You can feel more relaxed on your wedding day. Because you'll be surrounded by friends and family, you'll feel more at home with your guests.

Ever wondered what guys talk about when we're not around? Here's our chance to eavesdrop. iVillage and AskMen.com have joined forces to reveal what's really on men's minds - and just how bluntly they discuss it.

He has dated his fair share of women and has always enjoyed keeping his options open, but lately there's this one woman that has him wondering if she's 'the one.' In order to help him figure this out, we have compiled the following list of the top ten ways to know he's in love.