Quizzes to assess your relationships.
What is Post-infidelity Stress Disorder? Post-infidelity Stress Disorder (PISD) is inspired by the term Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While PTSD is a generic condition that can be caused by any life-threatening trauma, in PISD, infidelity is the trauma-inducing incident. The term was coined because infidelity can lead to PTSD-like symptoms in the betrayed partner.1Baucom, D. …
A close bond between a parent and child is normal and healthy. But there is such a thing as too much closeness, even in the context of a parent-child relationship. Enmeshed or overly close relationships are common in families and lead to a blurring of boundaries between the family members. A child who is enmeshed …
Enmeshment occurs in a relationship, when two people are too close to each other for it to be a healthy dynamic. It can happen in any relationship, but it is common in the parent-child dynamic. When two people are in an enmeshed relationship, their boundaries become blurred or non-existent. It’s like the two people are …
Social anhedonia is a reduced ability or an inability to derive pleasure, happiness, and joy from social interactions. It’s a type of anhedonia, a broader term that implies a failure to derive pleasure from something that is usually pleasurable and enjoyable. Being a social species, humans naturally experience a sense of pleasure and joy when …
When I first heard about love languages I was very intrigued. It made so much intuitive sense– this concept that people have different ways of showing and receiving love. “Love language” has now become a household term. While people describe any random thing as their love language these days, the original book on the topic …
Conflicts are interesting but complex and stressful phenomena. Familial conflicts can be especially stressful because we depend on our families for our essential needs. The stakes are as high as they can be. When a conflict arises between two parties, usually both have a role in causing and escalating it. Other times, families have high-conflict …
Abuse is a pattern of behavior that causes harm. The harm may be physical, psychological, financial, or legal. Physical, financial, or legal damage is easy to identify. Psychological or emotional abuse often happens under the radar. I’ve previously created an emotional abuse test that you can use to see if you’re being abused in a …
Passive-aggressiveness is a communication style in which a person expresses anger or hostility indirectly. Active aggression would be expressing anger directly. Passive-aggressive people tend to be conflict-avoidant and rarely express anger. This doesn’t mean they’re not hurt, though. They’ll get back at those who hurt them in subtle ways. Since passive-aggressive people cannot talk about …
For a relationship to thrive, partners need to be available to each other physically and emotionally. Emotional availability of the partner makes one feel safe and secure in the relationship. Emotional unavailability, in contrast, makes one feel insecure. Romantic relationships and marriages are expected to fulfill one’s emotional needs. If one cannot meet their emotional …
A compatible relationship is one where the partners live together harmoniously and peacefully. This doesn’t mean there are no conflicts in a compatible relationship. It means that partners in such relationships handle their conflicts and differences in healthy ways. People tend to put on their best behavior during the initial courtship phase of a relationship. …