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Showing posts with the label #Couplestherapy

How to deal with holiday stress: The psychology behind why family time can turn adults into moody teens again

#holidaystress #family #copingmechanism #conflict #Psychology #Triple5LightTherapy #Couplestherapy #BlackMaleTherapist  No matter how far away from home we travel, most of us can’t escape our familial history — and the memories that come with it. Along with shopping, gift-wrapping, and cookie baking, I’m prepping for the holidays by accepting that family stress may get the best of me. While I haven’t lived at home for over 20 years, conflict around heated topics like politics can make me feel like a misunderstood teen again. Listening calmly and objectively to my parents becomes harder and harder, and I interrupt more. Once, I even rolled my eyes at my mom like a pouty adolescent. My behavior, however, isn’t meant to be disrespectful or cruel, even though it might look that way. It’s actually a normal coping mechanism known as regression. As a psychologist, I’ve heard hundreds of family tales similar to mine. For many of us, reuniting with loved ones during t...

How to Create Emotional Boundaries in Your Relationship

#Boundaries #Emotions #Relationship #Couplestherapy  By Sarah Fielding    Emotional boundaries   are limits you place on the energy and emotions you give and receive in a relationship. They can apply to romantic and platonic, familial, and work-based relationships. “Emotional boundaries have to do with protecting your own emotional state and ensuring that you feel safe,” says  Gabriella Giachin , a licensed clinical social worker at New York City Psychotherapy Collective.  Establishing these boundaries can benefit your emotional well-being and lead to healthier connections with the people in your life (or show that some of them shouldn’t be there). Creating and honoring these limits can be all the more critical when your default is putting the needs of others ahead of yourself, adds  Saba Harouni Lurie , a licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of Take Root Therapy. If you’re unsure where to start determining emotional boundaries for your n...

12 Reasons Why Couples Break Up

#Couplestherapy #Arguments #Finances #DomesticViolence #BlackMaleTherapist #Triple5LightTherapy #AfricanAmericantherapist Whether it’s a relatively new relationship or a long-time  marriage , breaking up is hard.  Research  published in the  Journal of Family Psychology  shows that breakups increase psychological distress and reduce life satisfaction. Often, the negative effects of a breakup can impact one’s mental health for months, even years, after the dissolution. After a relationship goes south, it’s important to take stock of what went wrong. This can be done by yourself or with the help of a therapist and it can prevent you from entering a similarly vulnerable situation in the future. It’s also important to orient yourself to the common things that lead to breakups. This can help normalize your own situation and perhaps steer you down a better path in the future. Remember, breaking up is a part of life: approximately half of first-time marriages end in di...