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Are You Emotionally Dehydrated? Running on Empty in Marriage · Doing Marriage Well

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  Doing marriage well for August 24th, 2026. Are you emotionally dehydrated?
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  Running on empty in marriage. A few weeks ago, my dear wife ended up at the
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  doctor with some issues.
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  Among other things, they did standard blood tests, and then they told her she was dehydrated.
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  She'd actually been working to drink enough, but miscalculated and was shorting herself.
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  I decided to check my intake. I used to drink two gallons a day when I worked
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  in the heat in Texas and continued to drink a lot after.
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  But when I did the math, I found I was borderline now This is actually common
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  As we age, our thirst reflex stops working as it should,
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  Additionally, the kidneys become less able to concentrate urine Meaning our
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  body is less able to retain water when it's not getting enough,
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  So our bodies fail to tell us what we need And if we don't pay attention,
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  we become dehydrated And get all the problems that come with that,
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  And what, you're thinking, does this have to do with doing marriage well?
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  We tend to assume we are aware of what we need But just as our bodies may fail
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  to tell us we need water, our minds may fail to tell us we need things required
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  for our mental and emotional health, or for the health of our marriage.
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  We are even more likely to fail to be aware of what our spouse needs to feel
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  loved, connected, and healthy.
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  Early on, most couples are so head over heels in love, they give more than what
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  is needed without even trying.
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  As time goes on and that early love fades, we do less, unless we are intentional.
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  At the same time, we get busy with work, children, and all the rest.
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  We let things slide. We justify not only doing less for our spouse,
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  but also getting less from our spouse.
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  We start hurting because we're not getting what we need in our marriage,
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  but we may not know why we're feeling as we are.
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  Unfortunately, there is no lab test to tell us we need more snuggle,
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  conversation, or whatever.
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  The rest of the week, I will look at things couples may need more of,
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  but don't know that they need more.
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  For today, I want you to think about this. Have you lost your natural thirst
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  for something you need from your spouse?
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  Are you lacking something but not really feeling it? What about your spouse?
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  Are they okay with less of something that they need from you?
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  This is Paul, and doing marriage well is easier when you know what you need.
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  A note on water intake. Healthy men living in normal circumstances need 15.5
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  cups, that's 3.7 liters, of fluid each day.
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  For women, it's 11.5 cups, or 2.7 liters.
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  Normally, about 20% of this intake comes from food, leaving a daily beverage
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  bowl of roughly 13 cups, or 3 liters, for men, and 9 cups, 2.1 liters, for women.
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  For more information, see water. How much should you drink every day?
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  There's a link in the show notes.