Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Change It Up

When your partner expresses their feelings, even if you do not agree with them or understand why they feel that way, try showing your partner that you appreciate how they feel by validating their emotions.  This will make your partner feel valued and loved and will help defensiveness not become part of the conversation.
  •  Validation is showing acceptance and openness to your partner's points of view and emotions.
  • Maintaining eye contact, paraphrasing back what your partner just said and expressing concern for their feelings are some ways you can show your partner you care.
  • You may not understand why your partner feels the way they do or you may feel they are overreacting or being too sensitive, but it is important to remember that for whatever reason, they are feeling the way they are and those emotions need to be validated. 

          

1 comment:

  1. Totally agree. We try to do this. We even take it one step further by telling the other person WHY it makes sense to us they would feel this way. Not that we are agreeing with them and still don't feel differently but it does help us see the other point of view a bit better. If you try it, let me know what you think. (cousin love)

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