Is The 7 Year Itch for Real?

Dear Suze Q.  I've been married for 10 years but my happiness has been going downhill for the last 3.  Is the 7 year itch a real thing?  If I've got it, is there a cure?  Divorce, or tough it out?  Signed, Unsure 

Dear Unsure.  Good questions.  Studies from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics and other sources note an average duration of marriages within the U.S. and other countries hovers around the 7 year mark. I doubt that this itch can only be cured by an affair or a divorce.  Try putting moisturizers back into your marriage before taking drastic moves.  For a good read, google Harvard trained psychiatrists, Olds and Schwartz' series on addressing physical and emotional distance in relationship and what they call the "rustiness factor," (basically that if you don't use it, you lose it -sexual desire, attractiveness, intimacy...)  -SQ