Do you struggle to maintain a positive relationship with your father, mother, brother, sister, spouse, or child? If so, you’re not alone. Oftentimes, the people closest to us are the ones who know how to push our buttons the most. And conversely, we tend to show the worst sides of ourselves to the individuals we feel most comfortable around.

While building healthy relationships with immediate family members can be difficult, it’s not impossible. Here are some tips for how to nurture positive family relationships:

• Keep up with each other’s lives. Learning about your loved ones’ work or school duties, friendships, and interests can go a long way toward helping you feel closer to them and ensuring that they feel like you care. The next time you have dinner together, be sure to put down your phones, listen, and ask follow-up questions.
• Start a new tradition. Rituals can help families feel more stable and connected. Start having a weekly pizza or board game night, or begin planning regular getaways (you could even have your family members take turns choosing the destination!).
• Get moving. Studies show that exercise can be a great stress reliever, so if you think that stress might be contributing to tension within your family unit, you may want to consider incorporating more movement into your daily routine. Go on after-dinner walks or bike rides together, plan weekend hikes, or invest in a volleyball net for the backyard. Even if you’re not feeling stressed, working out with your family is a great way to improve your health while spending quality time together.

Looking to Build Positive Family Relationships?

If you’re hoping to foster healthy relationships with immediate family members, we can help. Contact us today to schedule an appointment. We’ll be happy to tell you more about our practice and answer any questions you might have.

We all believe we know what narcissism looks like. After all, aren’t a majority of politicians and Hollywood A-listers narcissists, projecting their massive egos onto the world? 

While that may be true, narcissists come in all shapes and sizes. They walk among us, some of them obvious, and some of them covert. 

So how can you tell if you’re dealing with an actual narcissist or just someone who is a bit full of themself? Here are a handful of traits the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) lists as characteristics that someone is a narcissist:

A Grandiose Sense of Self-Importance

Narcissists see themselves as incredibly essential to the success and happiness of other people. In their eyes, they believe they are capable of exceptionally high levels of achievement, whether they are or aren’t in reality.

They are Special or Unique

Narcissists believe they are so special and unique that few people can really understand them. Many will only want to spend time around high-status people.

A Need for Admiration

We all can admit it feels good to be appreciated and admired. But narcissists have an absolute need for admiration and a lot of it. 

A Sense of Entitlement

Narcissists truly believe they are the exception to the rule. If there is a line of people waiting to be seated, a narcissist will cut that line because why should they of all people be forced to wait? If you’ve spent any amount of time around an actual narcissist, their entitlement can be shocking as it seems to know no bounds.

A Lack of Empathy

Narcissist simply cannot imagine how others feel. They are wired differently from non-narcissistic people. When you can’t empathize or feel what someone else is, it makes it incredibly easy to abuse those around you.

These are just some of the main traits of a narcissist. Needless to say, spending any amount of time in their presence can be a very toxic and taxing experience.

 

SOURCES:

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/14-signs-of-narcissism

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/lifetime-connections/202110/the-13-traits-narcissist

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder

Have you recently gone through a divorce, a broken engagement, or a breakup? The loss of a romantic relationship can be especially difficult because we spend so much time with our significant others, so a separation can impact many aspects of our lives and leave us feeling like our world has been turned upside down. Not only do we have to cope with missing them, but we also have to deal with the hassles of splitting up any shared property and possibly finding a new home. Plus, we must accept that the dreams we had of a future with that person are no longer a possibility.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to process your grief and move on from your relationship. For instance, you may want to try:

• Spending time with family and friends
• Talking to a therapist
• Making time for self-care each day
• Incorporating exercise into your daily routine
• Starting a new hobby

As difficult as it may seem, try to look at your breakup as an opportunity to rediscover yourself and the things that make you who you are. For example, if you’ve always loved baking but you didn’t get to bake as often as you wanted during your relationship, try purchasing a new cookbook or signing up for a local cake decorating class.

Do You Need Help Healing From Loss?

If you’re having a hard time coping with the loss of a marriage, engagement, or dating relationship, one of the best ways to process your grief is to speak to a therapist. Contact us today and we can tell you more about our practice, answer any questions you might have, and schedule a therapy session.

Bipolar disorder is a condition that affects an individual’s mood. While manageable, the condition not only affects how a person thinks and feels, but also how they behave and act in romantic relationships. For instance, individuals with bipolar disorder experience severe high and low moods, which are typically called manic and depressive episodes. While in these emotional states, their behavior can scare and confuse their partner.

The good news is, with the right treatment plan, many individuals with bipolar disorder can have healthy and satisfying relationships.

Manic vs Depressive Episodes

In order to understand how bipolar disorder can affect relationships, we need to look at how the two main episodes affect a person’s personality and behavior.

When someone is in a manic state, they are often very irritable. This may cause them to disagree with their partner, and sometimes cause them to look for fights that aren’t really there.

Manic episodes also cause sufferers to partake in risky behaviors, such as binge drinking or gambling sprees. These risky behaviors can cause a lot of tension in the relationship.

Depressive episodes tend to cause the person to become very depressed and less communicative. They may be very weepy and feel hopeless. During these episodes the individual may pull away from their partner. They may also seem so lost and sad their partner feels overwhelmed and unable to help them.

Tips for Healthy Relationships

There is no relationship on the planet that doesn’t require a lot of work and effort. A relationship with a bipolar individual is no different. The good news is, there are numerous ways to build a loving and strong relationship in this situation:

• Learn about the condition – The more you know about bipolar disorder, the more you can understand what your partner is experiencing.
• Know their triggers – Triggers can disrupt your loved one’s mood, sending them into either a manic or depressive episode. Asking about potential triggers will help you support your loved one.
• Creating a support plan – A comprehensive plan will help you support your partner. Your plan can include things like useful contacts, activities to avoid, necessary adjustments to daily routine, etc.

Takeaway

If you’ve been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, or if you are on the verge or diving into a relationship with someone who has, know that the condition does not mean you will be saddled with problems. But a healthy relationship will depend on effectively managing symptoms.

If you’d like to work with a licensed mental health therapist who specializes in working with individuals with bipolar disorder, please give my office a call. I’d be happy to discuss treatment plans and how I may be able to help you experience a profound and loving connection with others.

SOURCES:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324380

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/mood-disorders/bipolar-relationships-what-to-expect

https://www.bipolarlife.org.au/how-can-bipolar-disorder-affect-relationships/