Effective communication is vital for couples to feel connected and understood. Yet, many partners struggle with this, especially when life gets busy or the relationship feels stuck in a rut. This article shares essential communication skills, practical steps, and common pitfalls to help you and your partner communicate better. By fostering curiosity and using these strategies, you can strengthen your
You’ve taken the opportunity to say you’re sorry to your spouse after forgetting that important event of theirs, yet it almost seems to have made things worse. Having just made yourself vulnerable, you’re now also confused why trying to own your oversight has now caused an even bigger rupture. You know it’s a long life and you’re not perfect, and
Emotional intelligence is crucial for our mental and relational health. Sometimes you worry that your mood changes at the drop of a hat. A family member asks you a question that catches you off guard, and you yell. Some time afterward, you realize that their question was pretty reasonable, and that the yelling may have been an overreaction. You start
It wasn’t like this before, but now you feel like you are fighting with your partner more than not. At this point you feel like your partner isn’t even listening anymore. You might even feel hopeless in your attempts to connect healthily with your partner. Maybe you have thought “if they just realized what they were doing wrong, we could
Overthinking is an exhausting cycle. Here you are again, replaying a conversation in your mind, dissecting every word, and analyzing what you could have said differently. Or maybe you’re diving into endless research about a problem, trying to think your way out of discomfort, only to feel more stuck. You’re frustrated and hate getting stuck in this cycle. You find
Trauma is a term loosely thrown around social media and coffee conversation to describe a variety of social interactions we encounter in our lives. We hear about experiences with trauma dumping, trauma bonding, and being triggered in everyday conversation. So, what really is trauma, and how do you know if you have it? Trauma, Like a Spiderweb, is Protective. Whether
Suicidal ideation is isolating. People with suicidal ideation often constantly battle thoughts about death and dying. Managing these feelings alone is tough, and it becomes an even heavier burden when we don’t discuss them. Society doesn’t teach us to openly talk about suicidal ideation. Yet locking away these thoughts only deepens the loneliness and pain. The truth is, suicidal ideation
So it’s your first time in therapy. You know that talking about difficult aspects of your life with your therapist is normal, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy! There is a part of you that wants to share and get support from your therapist, but there is also a part of you that fears being judged and worries about having
On the surface, being a “perfectionist” might not seem so bad. You want to always be doing your very best. That’s not so bad, right? Unfortunately, the reality of long-standing perfectionism can end up doing more harm than good. Perfectionism often leads to stress, anxiety, and feeling like you are never good enough. The underlying desire to be perfect can