NN Lifestyle: 5 ways to start a hard conversation with your partner
It’s important to ensure we don’t catch a partner off guard with a difficult conversation they aren’t in the ideal mental space to have.
Poor communication can lead to a feeling of disconnect and lack of intimacy. Feelings of resentment in a relationship can occur, and you may be more easily irritated and potentially experience relationship burnout. This makes it harder to want to converse with your partner if you feel they don’t understand you the way you would want them to.
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Unhealthy communication can escalate, resulting in intense reactions where everything is out of hand. Avoidance or withdrawal can also occur when a person thinks their partner is unwilling to start or continue an interaction. This response can also lead to maintaining a superficial relationship or breaking up.
However, transparent communication creates a sense of assurance and solidarity within a relationship. There must be no shaming, blaming, attacking, or criticizing during this time for an effective compromise to be possible.
Address what bothers you, for instance, their social media usage, by asking open-ended questions. Lean into curiosity rather than rebuking your partner. When healthy compromise becomes an active part of a relationship, both parties feel safe, respected, valued, and, thus, encouraged to make requests and express their perspectives without fear of shame, conflict, or rejection.
Below, we share the 5 most effective ways to start a hard, maybe even uncomfortable, conversation with your significant other in a manner that will make them listen without feeling attacked.
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They are as follows;
“There’s something I would like to talk about. Is now a good time?”
“I think we might have different perspectives about how we use social media. Do you have some time to talk about it?”
“I was wondering when would be a good time to talk about something that has been bothering me.”
“I feel hurt when I see you doing _________. Are you open to talking through this?”
“I am struggling with some of the things you have been saying/doing lately. Would you be willing to explore a compromise on this?”
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