Posts tagged defensiveness
Common Defense Mechanisms: What Are You Defending and Why?
Common Defense Mechanisms: What Are You Defending and Why?

More often than not, we defend ourselves and our actions – sometimes without even realizing it. Maybe if we weren’t so busy explaining ourselves to others, we’d have more room for important things like compassion, understanding, and empathy.

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Bridgette Gottwaldmental health awareness, mental health, therapy, therapy sessions, therapist, defense mechanisms, defend, defensiveness, my therapist says, denial, id, superego, ego, mechanisms, rationalize, sublimation, reaction formation, idenficitaion, aggressor, displacement, peojection
Gottwald’s Take on Gottman. Pt. 1: The Four Horsemen
Gottwald’s Take on Gottman. Pt. 1: The Four Horsemen

These Four Horsemen are markers of relationship failure with 93% accuracy in predicting divorce. They can be counteracted by their antidotes, which are listed in parentheses: Criticism (gentle start-up), Contempt (build a culture of appreciation), Defensiveness (take responsibility), Stonewalling (physiological self-soothing).

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BlogBridgette Gottwaldthe four horsemen of the apocalypse, the four horsement, conquest, war hunger, death, contempt, appreciate, culture, defensiveness, take responsibility, stonewalling, self-soothing, healthy for arguments, couples, verbal attacks, personality, character, passive-aggressive
Divided Americans and Couples Therapy: Reducing Conflict within Relationships, Pt. 2
Divided Americans and Couples Therapy: Reducing Conflict within Relationships, Pt. 2

Learn how Americans can communicate more effectively by utilizing tactics that research and experience have proven to work within couples therapy when it comes to resolving conflict.

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BlogBridgette Gottwaldamericans divide, couples therapy, reducing conflict in relationships, conversations, communication, defensiveness, criticism, contempt, stonewalling, negatie tactics, point of view, relationship stress, individual stress, emotional distance, avoid conflict, avoid difficult conversation, listen respectfully, respect, judgements