If you spent your childhood walking on eggshells, managing a parent’s moods, or feeling like your family was fundamentally different from everyone else’s, the traits you developed to survive that environment didn’t disappear when you grew up. This article, written by David Lechnyr, LCSW and Certified Gottman Therapist, explains the most common patterns that develop in adults raised in chaotic or emotionally unsafe households, and why recognizing them is the first step toward change.
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When Your Partner Can’t Hear You Anymore: The Hidden Pattern Destroying Conversations
Three hours. That’s how long Sarah found herself trapped in the same argument with her husband on a Tuesday night. She’d launched into explaining her frustration about their weekend plans, and somehow they’d spiraled into every unresolved issue from the past six months. By the time they finally stopped talking, she was hoarse from explaining … Read more
How to Swim with the “Difficult Sharks” in our Lives
No one wants to swim with sharks. Yet difficult people are, by their very nature, sharks: Aggressive, territorial, and tribal. When we unexpectedly find ourselves dealing with a difficult person, we often give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they will “play fair”. In our desire to “get along with others”, we often just make the situation worse. The hard truth is that we must learn how to identify and respond assertively to difficult people without being “eaten alive”.