Stonewalling is a term used to describe when an individual withdraws from interaction. This is also commonly described as “shutting down,” whereby the listener effectively closes themselves off from the speaker due to feeling overwhelmed. If you took stock of all your romantic relationships, you’d probably be able to find several instances (probably more) of […]
All Posts in Category: Blog
The Surprising Reasons for Your Yo-Yo Relationships
Sometimes relationships can make us feel stuck. Like a planet locked in orbit. Even if we know and understand the relationship may not be the best for us at the time. Perhaps we’ve even had the courage to leave. Once. Twice. A few times. But somehow, we always find ourselves being pulled back to the […]
Monogamy: too hard or hard-wired?
Monogamy and vulnerability are taking some hits these days as casual relationships are on this rise. It seems like everywhere we look individuals are growing averse to labeling their romantic interactions. This is particularly true for millennials who tend to prefer casual engagements over exclusivity. Or, if they do opt for monogamy, still engage in […]
The Secret To Relationship Success Is Healthy Attachment
The field of family and couple’s therapy has undergone a big shift in recent decades, moving into a focus on adult functioning and adult relationships. With this shift, we have seen the effects changes in attachment can have on self and system. And in fact, understanding attachment can integrate the two. Dr. Sue Johnson, a […]
Which Of These 7 Love Systems Describes Your Relationship? (Part 2)
In our last post we discussed renowned relationship expert, Margaret Paul, Ph.D.’s, theory of the different systems which direct and drive our relationships. In this post, we’ll be finishing up by examining the final four systems and taking a peak into Paul’s suggestions for how to overcome unhealthy relationship dynamics and move towards a healthier […]
Which Of These 7 Love Systems Describes Your Relationship? (Part 1)
Margaret Paul, Ph.D., is a best-selling author, relationship expert, and Inner Bonding® facilitator. And she has a theory about relationships. “Every relationship has a system,” Paul declares. She is, of course, referring to the system by which the relationship operates. Sometimes, and ideally, the system will emerge from love, but probably more often, it arises […]
The Body and Mind Connection You Need to Understand
For centuries now, the leading theory in psychology and neuroscience has been that the body and the mind are largely disconnected. It’s called the dualist viewpoint but recent studies show it may be unraveling. Researchers at the University of Cologne in Germany are studying how our perceptions about mind and body connection impact health and […]
Are You Making These Depression & Anxiety Mistakes?
Depression and anxiety are tricky beasts to deal with. The laundry list of reasons includes: overwhelming swells of negative emotion blocking out any and all optimism and the inability to respond to setbacks with pragmatism and reason. These are just a few examples of the challenges people living with depression and anxiety experience. If we’re […]
These 6 Brain Hacks Can Increase Your Happiness (Part 2)
As promised, this week will be the sequel to the previous post about how to hack your brain into feeling happier. We already covered willpower, bypassing your brain’s processing gateways via sense of smell, and changing the stories we tell ourselves to promote optimism. Here are the last three ways you can trick your brain […]
These 6 Brain Hacks Can Increase Your Happiness (Part 1)
Sonja Lyubomirsky is an academic researcher and professor at the University of California Riverside. She’s dedicated most of her career to studying human happiness. A skeptic might ask, “what can science tell us about happiness or being happier?” As it turns out, the answer is quite a lot. Lyubomirsky defines happiness as “the experience of […]