Should I unload my work problems on my spouse every night?

Some of it, yes. All of it, no. Kris Kluver, in The Dysfunctional Family Office, has Gail Mitchell sit with this exact question after a hard day at Mitchell Industries. She could bring it home to her husband Bill. Letting the words spill out over dinner felt easy. Something about it didn't feel fair. The job and the responsibility were hers. She didn't want to offload the daily weight onto the people she loved most. The healthy pattern is to share enough that the spouse knows what you're carrying without making them carry it for you. Big decisions, real fears, the moments that matter. Yes. Daily venting about every staff issue and every small frustration. No. Most CEO spouses end up carrying both their own life and the running daily stress of the CEO's life if you don't draw a line. The fix is having someone other than the spouse to carry the daily load. Usually a Peer Circle.