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How can couples reverse the buildup of resentment once they notice it?

10.06.2025 05:48

How can couples reverse the buildup of resentment once they notice it?

By taking turns talking.

By wanting to truly understand each other, despite feeling unheard.

By resolving to listen with curiosity rather than defensiveness.

Can it be true that people know your name, not your story, they’ve heard what you’ve done, but not what you’ve been through, so take their opinions of you with a grain of salt?

By learning to validate what the other is feeling. “I can absolutely see why you feel this way.”

By deciding to stop with the criticism and the nagging and instead say thank you for everything you do for me. Thank you for loving me.

By giving up the notion that someone has to “win” or that anyone loses by saying “you are right”, “I am sorry”, or “I can do better.”

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By keeping in mind it’s OK to have different opinions and different experiences, and they both matter in equal measure.

By internalizing that responding with kindness is strength, not weakness.