Have you ever been triggered by your partner? 

Maybe your spouse offered you some advice on how to do something around the house better and more efficiently. You took that as your partner being condescending so it triggered you to get defensive.

If you’ve ever felt this way; you aren’t alone! 

Your partner may not have meant to elicit that kind of a response from you but you can’t help but feel the way you do.

So, how do you work past feeling triggered by the things your partner may say or do?

Are you currently experiencing what many couples do that have been together a while? Possible stagnation, going through the motions, negative interactions, a loss of connection, etc. These things happen over time and tend to build. Today I’m going to teach you a tool that you can use to combat these experiences and strengthen your relationship again. 

Have you ever heard of the term thinking through a negative lens? Has your negative thinking affected your relationship with others or yourself?

Unhelpful (negative) thinking, also known as cognitive distortions, is a thought pattern that is influenced by difficult experiences or triggers. 

Do you notice how on certain days you are able to respond better to stress than others? Certainly it depends on the physical and emotional context under which the stress occurs, but did you know it also has to do with one's tolerance level?

Increasing distress tolerance allows for improved emotional regulation, feeling more in control, and decreased likelihood of emotional outbursts.

As our world becomes more accepting of broader and more diverse identities, you may have questions about how you can better support the LGBTQ+ community, or what LGBTQ+ even stands for.

Every person has their own journey in understanding what it means to support LGBTQ+ people, whether you’re LGBTQ+ or not. We hope this resource can help you begin that journey.

First, let’s define what it means to be an Ally!

Have you found over time that your physical touch with your partner has started to decline? Maybe you've found yourself stuck in the role of mom/dad and you haven't prioritized your partner. Or maybe the daily grind has made it so you aren't investing time back into your relationship to create the need for physical touch with one another.

In this month's Therapy Moment, Robyn Ashbaugh, LMFT shares the "gears of touch" and how it can help improve your intimacy with your partner!

Have you ever found yourself in a public setting, perhaps at school or work, and suddenly you’re overcome with an intense feeling that becomes difficult to control in the moment?

Hard as we may try to remain calm, cool and collected as we go about our everyday lives, our emotions sometimes have other plans, showing up with intense power at the most unexpected times.

Has your partner ever told you that you aren't hearing what they are saying or are invalidating their feelings when experiencing an argument?

Oftentimes, when people are told that they reply with "that wasn't my intent to make you feel that way" when discussing conflict.

The problem with that reply is that it doesn't totally resolve the issue at hand nor the impact it has on the other person.

Everyday there seems to be something in the world happening that is really hard to deal with. Whether it be racial injustices, shootings, war on other countries, politics and so much more, these things are not easy to deal with, let alone talk about, and they all impact us in different ways. As much as it would be easier for us to ignore or pretend like nothing is going on, that’s not the reality we live in.