I’m sort of wondering if there might have been some alcoholism on your wife’s side of the family. If so that may have some impact. I speak from my own experience – I tend to get extreme on a lot of things & both my parents were alcoholics.
When I got a calling to Carmel (OCDS) 25 years ago, my Catholic husband (I’m a convert) got scared bec he knew I had gotten a calling to a more religious life over the previous months, and he was afraid he would lose me. However, one of the requirements to entering OCDS was permission of one’s spouse, which delayed my entering for several more months. I’m a pre-women’s movement woman and we were married in 1969, so I’ve always considered hubby head of the family and the final decision-maker – tho I do put up pretty big arguing-begging-screaming tactics now and then to get my way. The hard thing in convincing hubby to give permission to enter Carmel was my trying to act like a Carmelite – which precluded ranting, raving and screaming. Prayer really helps a lot, tho bec God gave people free will, it’s also difficult. St. Monica wept and prayed intensely for many years over her son St. Augustine.
The devil often uses such tactics when he cannot corrupt souls by the usual corruption – just make them go way beyond the good direction they are taking…into something unhealthy spiritually.
I know with my various extremes that have been unhealthy spiritually, they tend to wear off with time.
If nothing else works, just turn to prayer and time…which will heal all things.
St. Teresa of Jesus taught us with:
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.
BTW, I’m basically against Latin Masses and even Latin used for more than 5% of the Mass for several reasons, unlike hubby who fondly remembers the Latin Mass from his childhood and early adulthood:
*]I studied Latin in HS, and we read and translated Ceasar’s Bello Gallico and other military imperialist exploits of Ceasar; so to me Latin is a language of imperialism, domination, and bloodshed, including nailing people to crosses.
*]Secondly and more importantly Catholics really don’t understand what Prostestants think of Catholicism. I was taught to hate Catholics as a kid. The biggy is Catholicism being “ritualistic,” more concerned about not understanding the Gospels and Christianity (e.g., by using Latin) than understanding it, and basically missing the point of Christianity. This, of course, is untrue, but why fuel their fire???
*]Finally, I like to understand what people are saying (perhaps bec I was reared a Protestant and meaning is more or as important as ritual), and I really don’t remember my HS Latin from 52 years ago, and I’m really too busy to relearn it.
RE head-scarves, I’m not against that, except as you say it sticks out, and Catholics being conformists (another thing my mom criticized about Catholics), this would be embarrasing to many. However, my husband is from India and in the villages Catholic women have always worn and are still wearing head-scarves (usually the end of their sari or the dupatta scarves of churidar outfits) at Mass – so it would be weird not to cover the head; while in the big cities, like Chennai, they are mostly giving that up (sort of like 45 years ago in the U.S.).
So, anyway I cover my head during Mass when in rural India. I brought a black chiffon dupatta back with me from India last time we visited, and wear it at Mass during our yearly Carmelite retreats, where about one-sixth of the female members wear veils or head-scarves, so it isn’t so weird.
The important thing is (I read this somewhere), one doesn’t need to be on their knees (I have knee problems, so that’s out for me now) or cover their head to pray, but their mind should be on its knees 
