Category: Holiday

How to Discuss “Eggshell” Topics

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One of the biggest challenges couples face is: how to talk about “eggshell” topics – those topics that you can’t discuss without fighting, or hurting feelings, or getting defensive – topics that one way or another, whenever you approach them, you both ending up feeling like crap about the relationship… Topics like: in-laws and relatives and friends you disagree on; past hurts, or future plans; personal hygiene, kids – and of course, money…you avoid these topics, yet they simmer unspoken beneath the surface; live-wire obstacles to real trust and intimacy and fulfillment. That’s why there shouldn’t
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The Secret Reason Your Relationship Sucks During the Holidays! (and how to fix it)

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Do you love or hate the holiday season? That might depend on what’s happening with your spouse or lover, right? If you’re married or with a partner but you still feel empty and unfulfilled, then the holidays are just a swamp of piled-on activities, plodding tasks, pressures, expectations, and overlapping dramas – and it all feels so….mandatory, and inconvenient, and intrusive. Is that you? If your holidays are a stressful slog, but you can’t put your finger on the problem – well, I just might know: Dopamine. It could be that you’re hooked on the stuff,
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Relationship Conflicts: When It’s Family vs. Partner at Holiday Gatherings

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Do the holidays back you into a corner, forcing you to “choose sides” between your partner and one or more family members? Is there a constant tension beneath all the hugs and smiles: your partner vs. your family? Maybe it’s a general attitude, or perhaps the conflict is over a specific issue: differing opinions about a “bad” choice someone made – or perhaps an unforgiven incident from years ago, kept vigilantly, resentfully alive… Or – maybe it’s a new conflict, specially manufactured just for the holidays this year! Either way, somebody’s going to be mad at
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