0:06
hi everyone I'm Kell ooro and this is
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adaptable Behavior explained hi
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everybody thanks so much for tuning in
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today we are going to talk about a topic
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that is so relevant and prevalent uh and
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that's repair after conflict in
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relationships and I have to say that in
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pretty much every client people come in
0:29
talking about an issue they have with
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their partner or the way they
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communicate or have conflict with a
0:34
partner they talk about things that are
0:37
related to how do we uh I'm so tired of
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the of the cycle I'm just exhausted from
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the way that we interact I hate that we
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take so long to come back to connection
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with one another and I just um I just
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struggle with that and you know as a
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therapist when I have someone on my
0:54
couch you know the guidance is really I
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know that it's hard to be in
0:58
relationship and people are going to do
1:00
the things that they're going to do but
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one thing that's always sure is we can
1:04
only affect the way that we show up in
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response to issues in relationship and
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how do we uh experience and change our
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Direction our communication our nervous
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system so that we can have better
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relationships with the data that comes
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at us in conflict and so today what I'm
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hoping to do is share with you uh ways
1:25
that we can repair ruptures after
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conflict because you know we all are in
1:29
relationship sh whether that be personal
1:31
with friends with uh with spouses with
1:34
Partners uh in our work environments I
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mean let's face it relationships are
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everywhere and so I hope this show
1:41
resonates with you and you find some
1:43
nuggets that serve you and if you like
1:45
the content please make sure to share
1:47
and subscribe to the show so that you
1:49
don't miss further episodes and it helps
1:51
us to determine uh future topics for the
1:54
show so with conflict resolution we
1:58
understand that there's so many things
2:00
that can be part of it and we're going
2:02
to talk about several of those uh facets
2:05
one of the things that's really
2:06
important to understand is that our
2:08
attachment style really affects the way
2:11
that we interact in relationships and so
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we're going to talk a little bit about
2:14
our attachment Styles not too much I
2:16
have a full episode on attachment Styles
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highly recommend that you determine
2:20
yours uh and figure out what what your
2:22
attachment style is and the attachment
2:24
style of your partner uh the other topic
2:27
that we're going to talk about is
2:28
setting boundaries some communication
2:30
strategies during and after conflicts
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and so uh grab a pen and a paper or make
2:36
sure that you pause in sections and talk
2:38
with someone that you are in
2:39
relationship with so that you can apply
2:42
some of these strategies in your in your
2:44
life so just a quick review on
2:47
attachment Styles there are secure
2:50
anxious avoidant and disorganized
2:53
attachment Styles and all of them
2:55
significant uh significantly impact our
2:58
relationships because we you're going to
3:00
have a propensity to show up in
3:01
relationships and engage with people in
3:04
specific ways depending on how we are
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wired and so you need to recognize your
3:08
own style and that of your partners if
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you want to read more about this there
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is a great book called attached and I
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highly recommend that to really every
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one of my clients especially if they end
3:19
up in coup's work um as a kind of a a
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foundation on who am I and and who is my
3:25
person and how can I expect them to show
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up and it also helps us to really
3:29
understand what guides them and so I
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want to talk a little bit more in depth
3:33
about a specific attachment style and
3:35
how that might look in Conflict so the
3:38
most ideal uh attachment style is our
3:41
secure attachment or a secure style and
3:44
a person who has a secure attachment
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it's not that we don't have conflict
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it's just that during conflict we can
3:51
remain calm we can be open we can remain
3:54
curious and uh we don't necessarily fall
3:57
into blame so quickly uh we're able to
4:00
express feelings without shame and
4:03
without shutting down and getting small
4:05
and emotions are of course at the root
4:07
of every behavior that we ever did and
4:09
so we want to be able to express our
4:12
emotions and our feelings and in a
4:14
secure attachment style it's a lot
4:16
easier for someone like that to to do
4:19
that so something in Conflict might
4:21
sound like you know I understand why
4:23
you're upset let's try to find a
4:25
resolution so that we can mitigate
4:26
conflict in the future so there's an
4:28
opening there's a curios it and there's
4:30
an opportunity for resolution uh and a
4:34
and an opportunity for brainstorming a
4:35
resolution someone with an anxious or
4:38
preoccupied attachment style can be in
4:41
unrest more easily uh they become
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emotional they need reassurance they
4:46
often fear rejection and abandonment and
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it's activating something when in
4:52
disconnection or when in Conflict where
4:55
a person starts to feel you know
4:57
uncomfortable and they need the
5:00
and so they're someone who might say
5:02
something more like you know are you mad
5:04
at me what did I do or they're super
5:06
sensitive to an expression of
5:07
disappointment or confusion on someone's
5:09
face and they um they're really nervous
5:12
about the disconnection and so if
5:14
they're mad can we get through it this
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is the person that might even follow
5:18
someone uh when they've said I'm angry I
5:20
need a minute you know someone with an
5:22
anxious attachment style might follow
5:24
them into the other room because they're
5:25
so uncomfortable with the disconnection
5:28
then there's the uh dismiss in or the
5:30
avoidant style of attachment and so this
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person is more naturally reluctant to
5:35
connect and so they'll down they'll
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downplay conflict they might withdraw
5:40
emotionally these are someone who would
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say you know it's not a big deal
5:43
whatever you know bygones whatever it is
5:46
um let's just move on and let's just
5:49
move forward so they're not necessarily
5:52
wanting to get into the the details of
5:55
the conflict and the disconnection and
5:57
what happened someone with a fear F or
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avoidant disorganized style these people
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tend to have a more intense emotional
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experience they can swing from uh I need
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to be connected with you and uh and if I
6:12
feel too close and it gets overwhelming
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I might push you away and so that
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toggling between the closeness and the
6:19
fear uh is part of how someone with a
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disorganized attachment style will show
6:23
up in relationship and in conflict and
6:25
so they might be feeling simultaneously
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I'm angry but I'm also scared and so
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they have a harder time figuring out
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what balance might need to look like so
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I want to give you a little bit of
6:36
language related to conflict in uh as an
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EFT therapist we often call conflicts
6:42
ruptures and so I want to make sure you
6:45
understand that even when you go to
6:47
therapy and you have a good handle on
6:49
all of these Concepts it doesn't mean
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that relationship is without conflict
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all relationship will have disconnection
6:55
and rupture and the thing that we want
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to just realize is we can get better at
6:59
uh repair after rupture we can have them
7:02
more uh infrequently and we don't H
7:05
become so distressed when we have them
7:07
because we know we can find our way back
7:09
to each other and so a rupture is
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basically what happens when a connection
7:13
between two people breaks and it's often
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caused by hurt anger or often times
7:19
unmet expectations and so these are the
7:21
little things that you know I hear
7:23
people say I shouldn't have to tell them
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or they should just know and I always
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tell my clients uh we shouldn't expect
7:30
anything without clear and concise
7:33
communication so we're going to talk
7:35
about how both people contribute to a
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rupture and I'm going to give you an
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example and I've included a little
7:40
picture here because truthfully what
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happens in a rupture is we all want to
7:45
be in connection we're hardwired for
7:47
connection and what happens in a r
7:50
rupture is we're like this this uh
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picture from from burning man where
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we're the little boy and the little girl
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or or the or the people that are backs
7:58
to one another but all we really want is
8:01
to have connection as an adult and so
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you can see in this illustration the uh
8:06
disconnection and so I'm going to use an
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example that um is is more of a
8:10
colleague situation we're going to we're
8:12
going to call them Frank and Barry so
8:15
Frank and Barry they run a hardware
8:17
business together and recently they
8:19
invested in a new accounting system that
8:21
was recommended by Frank and
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unfortunately with all new things
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there's risk and sometimes things are
8:27
successful and sometimes they fail well
8:29
in this case it failed and there was a
8:32
cash flow problem that created some um
8:35
dis uh some dis Connection in in the
8:38
partners but also some struggle in the
8:41
business and so Barry has a role he
8:45
discovers that there's a botch system he
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explodes in Rage at Frank he calls him
8:50
incompetent he questions his judgment
8:53
and uh of course Barry's temper
8:55
escalated in the conflict uh and then we
8:57
have Frank's role so Frank Frank made
8:59
the business mistake but he also allowed
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Barry's anger to affect him deeply and
9:04
he was ruminating and upset and instead
9:07
of seeking repair he ends up sulking and
9:09
he waits for an apology and so both
9:13
Frank and Barry contribute to the
9:15
rupture Barry's explosive reaction and
9:18
Frank's emotional withdrawal leads to
9:20
this stalemate they're both kind of
9:21
sticking their heels in with their
9:23
perspective being the right perspective
9:25
and I can't tell you how often I see
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this happening in disconnection and
9:30
unfortunately someone has to um has to
9:33
be the bigger person and take
9:35
accountability for their part in order
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to make repair happen so each person has
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to assume responsibility for their part
9:44
of the repture they have to acknowledge
9:45
their emotions like they were sad they
9:47
were angry they were disappointed and
9:50
that helps shift people from blame and
9:52
defensiveness to that personal
9:53
accountability where people can take a
9:55
stance for um for repair and connection
9:59
and ultimately curiosity and so that's
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just a little example about how
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everybody has to take part in their uh
10:07
take responsibility for their part in
10:08
rupture in order for repair to take
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place so next we're going to talk about
10:14
something called Boundaries and I know
10:15
there's a lot of Buzz around the word
10:17
boundaries uh but it's really important
10:19
to understand uh how boundaries are
10:21
meant to be used and I have a full
10:23
episode on boundaries that I highly
10:25
encourage you to watch because people
10:27
are really mistaking boundaries for
10:29
walls and they're misusing the word and
10:31
they're also not allowing for a pathway
10:34
of intimacy and connection which is
10:35
really what boundaries are about so in
10:38
order to have boundaries in Conflict rep
10:40
repair we have to clearly communicate
10:43
the needs and our boundaries so uh I'm
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going to talk about a couple kinds of
10:47
boundaries one might be a timeout
10:49
boundaries let's face it we all lose our
10:51
cool at times we all feel overwhelmed
10:54
with our emotional experience and so
10:56
sometimes we need to call a pause and so
10:58
that's a time out boundary so during a
11:00
conflict we might need to say I need to
11:02
take a break to calm down or I need to
11:03
just go walk around the block to take a
11:05
minute and that helps us to get back in
11:07
our prefrontal cortex and get into a
11:10
place where we can use reason and
11:12
rational decision-making and and better
11:14
communication and we have a broader
11:16
perspective ability once we're calmed
11:18
down and then after a conflict we need
11:21
to say like let's revisit this uh
11:23
concept or this discussion in an hour
11:26
when we've both cooled off and we're
11:27
able to have more uh you know where
11:30
cooler heads will prevail uh we might
11:32
need to set a no yelling boundary so
11:34
when someone is yelling or they lose
11:36
their temper it's really hard to remain
11:39
cool it's really hard to be in a
11:40
situation where you can be measured and
11:44
be rational and hear somebody else
11:46
because it creates an automatic
11:48
defensive response and so you might need
11:51
to say during a conflict like there's a
11:54
no yelling boundary we need to keep our
11:56
voices down or I'm having a hard time
11:58
keeping measured in this conversation as
12:00
you raise your voice and um after the
12:03
conflict we need to revisit it and say
12:05
remember we have an agreement that we're
12:06
not going to raise our voices so that we
12:08
can get through conflict all
12:11
relationships will have some
12:12
constructive tension when dwell and and
12:15
also we grow through the discomfort we
12:17
gain a better understanding of one
12:19
another we tend to have um more
12:21
connection and intimacy when we've come
12:23
through repair and so it's important to
12:26
recognize that boundaries are part of
12:27
any good relationship
12:29
we want to make sure that we have a
12:31
respectful communication boundary and so
12:33
when we start to put Jabs in and be
12:36
passive aggressive we're we're shutting
12:38
our partner down we're creating a
12:40
defensive stance and so during a
12:42
conflict a communication boundary might
12:44
look like we can discuss this but you
12:46
know I really can't do the name calling
12:49
or we we've we've agreed that we weren't
12:51
going to shame one another and put each
12:52
other down so let's let's look at that
12:55
for communication boundaries and then
12:57
after the conflict we need to Circle
12:59
back and we need to be able to say you
13:01
know I felt hurt when you called me
13:02
names and I noticed myself shutting down
13:04
and really wanting to avoid future
13:07
conflict or or future discussion about
13:09
this and I felt really alone and so we
13:11
need to be able to express our um
13:14
emotional experience after the conflict
13:16
when it comes to communication that's
13:18
part of healthy repair of course in all
13:20
relationships effective communication is
13:23
necessary and so um this is a common
13:26
thing that almost every therapist will
13:28
discuss but I I'm going to dig in a
13:29
little bit deeper so we want to use eye
13:32
statements to express our feelings
13:34
anytime we start with you you you or you
13:37
always or you never we are pretty much
13:40
going to hit a wall because it creates
13:41
and elicits a defensive response in our
13:43
listener and so we want to take
13:46
responsibility for our emotional
13:48
experience you know I felt really
13:50
overwhelmed and hurt when you uh called
13:52
me a name and the story I make up is
13:55
that you don't respect me at all and you
13:58
don't want to be nice to me and about
14:00
that I felt overwhelmed and hurt and I
14:03
really want to allow or I I want to be
14:05
in communication with you but I need you
14:07
to be more respectful to me because
14:09
that's not that's not working for me so
14:11
we can use eye statements in effective
14:14
ways and it allows our listener to
14:16
remain open and we want to make sure we
14:18
stay focused on the issue at hand we
14:20
don't want to bring in all the past
14:22
grievances when we're in an experience
14:25
because quite frankly when we do that
14:28
it's kind of a stock a stockpiling
14:30
tactic and that starts to create
14:33
defensiveness in our listener as well so
14:35
we want to validate each other's
14:36
experiences we want to keep things
14:38
focused on the issue and we want to be
14:40
self-responsible about our uh
14:43
communication another thing that's
14:45
really important in conflict is
14:47
acknowledging the hurt and owning our
14:48
role and so when we're in
14:51
disconnection all of us are hurt most
14:54
people are hurt they might act more
14:56
angry but underneath that anger is hurt
14:58
so we want to be honest about our
15:00
emotional impact you know I know I
15:02
showed up really angry but really what
15:04
it is is I feel so helpless that I can't
15:05
get through to you and then I lost my
15:08
temper so take responsibility for our
15:11
part in conflict and that leaves a
15:13
window open for your partner or the
15:15
person you're in conflict with to also
15:17
take responsibility also take
15:20
responsibility and accountability for
15:21
our part and whatever the conflicts
15:23
about so let's say you know I come home
15:25
from work and the kitchen's full of
15:27
dishes or the sink's full of dish is you
15:29
know um I get angry and I lose my temper
15:32
with my partner and uh you know they get
15:36
defensive and they say you know you
15:38
don't know all the things that I do but
15:40
when the dust settles we need to say you
15:42
know I'm sorry that I took out my
15:43
overwhelm from the day on you about the
15:45
dishes and my partner might say you know
15:47
and I apologize for not contributing
15:49
equally to the household charge I real
15:51
chores I realize that you know I need to
15:54
take responsibility for doing my own
15:55
dishes as well and things like that so
15:57
we want to avoid blame and criticism
16:00
because that just creates a defensive
16:02
stance in the person and it's it's
16:04
ineffective we want to focus on
16:06
Solutions rather than blaming each other
16:09
so instead of saying you know you always
16:10
leave the dishes in the sink um you
16:12
might want to say uh let's find a way to
16:15
resolve the overwhelm related to all of
16:17
our daily tasks and uh figure out you
16:21
know a plan for the future so that we
16:23
can have all of our home needs met
16:25
ultimately this opens us up for a CO
16:29
creation and preventing future conflicts
16:31
so we get better Clarity and
16:33
understanding about how the rupture
16:35
happened in the first place how they
16:37
were co-created how we both played a
16:39
part and recognize we have to clean up
16:41
our side of the street because with all
16:43
conflict there's a 5050 responsibility
16:47
in the situation we want to discuss how
16:50
conflict triggers us so that we can
16:52
prevent um future conflicts from
16:55
becoming so uh eruptive and um we're
16:59
going to talk a little bit about some
17:00
specific keys to repair relationships
17:03
after conflict along with some examples
17:06
for how we want to move through things
17:08
so ultimately we want to always create
17:11
active listening and validation and so
17:13
even if someone is saying something that
17:15
you just completely don't agree with we
17:18
need to say you know I I really feel
17:20
compassion for you that you had that
17:23
emotional experience and I'm really
17:25
sorry that that happened for you and we
17:27
want to listen actively to their
17:29
perspective without interrupting and
17:31
then validate the feelings that they had
17:33
or the experiences that they had um and
17:35
we need to take that accountability for
17:37
our part in it so it's you know it's
17:40
kind of like you know I understand that
17:41
my behavior hurt you and I'm I'm sorry
17:43
that I didn't better consider your
17:46
feelings and then when we apologize it
17:48
needs to be sincere we don't want to be
17:50
just checking a box and we want to be
17:52
genuine you want to acknowledge your
17:54
mistake you want to express remorse you
17:56
want to mean it when you say you know
17:58
I'll continue to work on that uh
18:00
evolution of my part and how we have
18:02
conflict so if I raised my voice I might
18:05
want to say I'm sorry that I raised my
18:07
voice during our argument it wasn't
18:09
respectful and you deserve better
18:11
treatment than that um I hope you can
18:13
forgive me and so it's genuine always
18:16
when we're in a growing stance and we
18:17
want to improve we have to reflect we
18:19
have to have self-reflection so we need
18:22
to go what was my part in it and reflect
18:24
on our Behavior our triggers that
18:27
activated the way that we showed up and
18:30
understand how our past experiences
18:32
influence our reactions during conflict
18:34
we all have a past that um that that
18:37
clouds our lenses and how we view the
18:40
world and so when we are unaware that
18:42
our past uh contributes to how we show
18:45
up then we're bound to continue behaving
18:48
in the same way that we that we have
18:51
because we're not learning we're not
18:53
taking accountability we're not
18:54
reflecting so when we reflect on our
18:56
triggers we want to think about what
18:59
what got me about those dishes in the
19:00
sink what was it that so bothered me and
19:03
you know when and when I think about it
19:05
it's like well I've had to be so Ultra
19:07
responsible my whole life because of you
19:10
know however my parents were and um when
19:13
I see the dishes it's just this reminder
19:15
that see here I am again having to take
19:17
care of everything on my own and that
19:19
voice that I hear in my head that's part
19:20
of my history that says you know um I'm
19:24
resentful and I'm jaded from things that
19:26
I've had to take responsibility for in
19:27
my past and um and I'm kind of taking
19:30
that former feeling of responsibility
19:33
out on my current partner because when I
19:34
slow down and I think about it my
19:36
partner more than pulls their weight
19:38
they more than do their fair share in
19:39
our relationship so my reaction so my so
19:43
my reaction uh to that uh dishes
19:47
situation really had nothing to do with
19:49
that moment it's a buildup of my history
19:52
and it created a defensive response so
19:54
part of our self-reflection is owning
19:56
our role recognizing our history and and
19:59
taking uh accountability for our part
20:02
and that we contribute equally to our
20:04
rupture and by acknowledging our part in
20:06
Conflict we can create space for
20:09
understanding and for repair now that
20:11
leads to what do we want to do in the
20:12
future so that we have better
20:14
understanding as partners whether it's
20:16
business or or friendships or in
20:18
romantic relationships and that's having
20:21
a clear understanding of our needs and
20:23
our expectations and communicating those
20:25
openly to the person that we're in
20:27
relationship with so if I'm feeling
20:29
lonely and disconnected because you know
20:32
my husband and I are like two ships
20:33
passing in the night we're both slammed
20:35
with our schedules it's my
20:37
responsibility to say you know I really
20:38
need more quality time together can we
20:41
schedule some regular date nights
20:43
especially in the midst of all these
20:45
projects we have going on otherwise I
20:46
feel like we're getting lost in
20:48
disconnection and ultimately I always
20:51
recognize that when we're in
20:52
disconnection it's probably because one
20:54
of our basic needs are not being met and
20:56
we haven't had enough time together and
20:58
so we have to make sure that we express
21:00
our needs and then it's really a good
21:03
idea to create some repair rituals so
21:06
maybe an example would be like uh after
21:09
we have conflict and we reconnect let's
21:11
make sure we hug and we say I love you
21:13
after every disagreement and that
21:15
becomes part of our closure and our
21:17
nervous system understanding that this
21:19
is over and this is what we do when
21:22
we're in reconnection and this helps us
21:25
to rebuild trust gradually over time
21:28
because that's what's true is all
21:30
relationships have conflict and ruptures
21:33
but rebuilding and repairing does take
21:35
time and so we want to make sure that uh
21:38
to build our to rebuild our trust that
21:40
we're consistent in our actions and that
21:42
will help us better build trust uh in
21:45
our relationship and ultimately in our
21:47
nervous system to trust that we get
21:49
better we come back together um and
21:52
we're we're going to be okay and so um
21:55
we want to make sure that we build con
21:58
ction and uh transparency about what
22:01
we're needing and talk to our partner
22:03
about I'll be more transparent more uh
22:06
I'll be more transparent about my
22:08
feelings moving forward we want to
22:11
express appreciation especially when we
22:13
get this right um uh not so much getting
22:16
life right but getting our repair from
22:19
the repture right so we want to show
22:20
gratitude for our partners efforts
22:23
thanks for being patient with me during
22:25
our last argument I know that this
22:27
pattern is frustrating
22:29
and that um it can be exhausting but I
22:32
just really appreciate you continuing to
22:33
work with me so that we can be um back
22:37
in connection as fast as possible and
22:39
that we can both take accountability for
22:41
what we do and our side of the street
22:44
now all of this is really helpful and
22:46
useful But ultimately sometimes we need
22:48
a third person to be objective or a
22:51
second person if we just do individual
22:53
counseling so make sure that you seek
22:55
professional help and consider working
22:57
with a therap IST a counselor because
22:59
they can guide you through the repair
23:01
process and provide valuable insights to
23:04
you about your part or if you do coup's
23:06
work you know the couple is the client
23:08
in that case and so the therapist's job
23:10
is to kind of really equally provide
23:13
insight for both part uh both Partners
23:16
part in the conflict and their negative
23:18
interaction cycle and so it's always
23:21
good to get that that um objective
23:24
vantage point I highly recommend it I
23:26
know that it's been so completely
23:28
helpful my personal life in my personal
23:30
work in my relationship with my spouse
23:32
we've had um excellent help with EFT
23:35
couples therapists as well as our own
23:37
EMDR uh trauma focused individual
23:40
therapists and it's really helped us to
23:43
improve the way that we relate and um
23:46
it's definitely been you know hugely
23:49
helpful in the client lives that I've
23:51
been lucky enough to work with because
23:53
they are able to then see their part and
23:56
they're able to course correct so that
23:57
their rep ures uh and repair can happen
24:00
more quickly so you need to remember
24:03
self-awareness open communication lead
24:05
to healthier conflict resolution
24:07
ultimately it takes practice it's
24:10
progress not Perfection and I I hope
24:13
that you're all finding something useful
24:15
from this episode uh so thank you so
24:18
much for tuning in keep working on those
24:20
repairs in your relationships and until
24:23
we meet again next time don't forget to
24:25
lead with love because it'll never steer