Keeping silent to protect your partner from feeling bad actually makes them feel worse. They get stressed, suspicious and feel estranged from you. Research indicates that avoiding one another works against successful relationships, and constant worry about the feelings of your partner makes you dissatisfied and want to opt out. Learn 3 ways to communicate honestly and build healthy connections.
How do you handle other people when they take what you say and make it all about them? Do you hold a grudge and let it out slowly punishing them over a long period of time, or do you attack them and fight for your spot in the conversation? Either way it's not comfortable or respectful. No one gets heard. This video clip teaches you how to set out the parameters so that you have your turn, get heard and in turn feel ready to hear the other person's experience, comparing notes rather than competing.
Is yours a volatile marriage prone to conflict and likely to break up, or a validating marriage that is happy and supportive? Find out by reading this article and get 8 tips on changing your marriage from a volatile to a validating successful marriage.
Pretending you aren't hurt when things go wrong in your relationships may make you feel strong in the moment. But suppressed and denied hurt turns into hostile contempt and wish for revenge- the ideal recipe for breakups and divorce. Learn how to express your hurt without being accusatory or punishing. Make room for feeling better and more connected when you have given your hurt it's rightful voice.
When you are upset that you aren't as perfect as you aimed for, you may criticize yourself, feel bad about yourself and then withdraw from the people you love. Your sense of being imperfect makes you fearful of getting close. You turn inward and shut loved ones out, making your intimate connections dissolve. Research indicates that the self-critical part of perfectionism is the most destructive force to intimacy.
When you get that feeling that there's no point saying anything because you "know" how your loved one will react, you relive a frozen image of the past and kill any chances of connection. Get this tip on beginning a conversation to share your ideas, experience and feelings by asking questions that keep you both firmly grounded and fresh in your ever changing relationship and enjoy the contact!
The way you and your partner look at each other predicts healthy versus unhealthy intimacy, and ultimately your relationship satisfaction. Find out how your pattern of eye contact influences how you talk about your relationship and influences your sense of autonomy and togetherness.
Bargaining with your loved ones either because you are afraid of being rejected or because you are riddled in guilt can bring short term relief. In the long run the relationships are torn into shreds because your true motives for the bargain are not on the table. Learn how to take care of your relationship with healthy compromise instead of stressful bargaining.
blaming yourself for things going wrong can save your relationship but ultimately make you drown in bitterness. The stress of swallowing it all weakens your immune system and causes depression, gastric problems and eating disorders. Learn how to share experiences with loved ones so that you can participate in a more equitable, secure, stable and safe relationship that turns the bitterness into sweetness.
Don't let your emotional roller coaster make you feel insecure in your relationships. Why go from feeling ecstatic one minute to invisible the next. Learn how to manage your feelings so that you stay connected and ride out the bad times by holding onto and using the good moments when you store and access them to your advantage. Save yourself the hassle and stress of unpredictable interactions by watching this video and learning how to keep a balanced emotional connection with your loved ones.
