Tara Fields, PhD, a licensed marriage and family therapist (license MU20809), author of the book The Love Fix: Repair and Restore Your Relationship Right Now. In her book, Dr. Tara Fields expresses the need for hope and trust to save a failing relationship.
Fields says restoring hope gives people an optimistic outlook on the future and makes them more receptive to trying different methods to save a relationship. When it comes repairing conflict, hope surfaces when both people have the intention to transform their conflict loop into a circle of love, rather than each of them focusing on winning a fight. One person must first show compassion for the other before empathy is reciprocated, Fields says. One way to transform the conflict loop is to show compassion and empathy towards your partner. In doing so, a couple can overcome specific relationship issues and develop caring methods for handling individual underlying issues that were the primary cause of habitual fights.
Trust involves a level of intimacy that only occurs when two individuals allow themselves to be vulnerable, Fields says. Each person should work to understand the deepest needs of their significant other to give them emotional support. This also leads to gratitude and respect. Fields suggests couples that are habitually focused on only seeing the negative in their partner’s behavior try a Three-Minute Fix which involves finding and sharing three positive qualities that they’re appreciative or grateful for in their mate.
Fields says restoring hope gives people an optimistic outlook on the future and makes them more receptive to trying different methods to save a relationship. When it comes repairing conflict, hope surfaces when both people have the intention to transform their conflict loop into a circle of love, rather than each of them focusing on winning a fight. One person must first show compassion for the other before empathy is reciprocated, Fields says. One way to transform the conflict loop is to show compassion and empathy towards your partner. In doing so, a couple can overcome specific relationship issues and develop caring methods for handling individual underlying issues that were the primary cause of habitual fights.
Trust involves a level of intimacy that only occurs when two individuals allow themselves to be vulnerable, Fields says. Each person should work to understand the deepest needs of their significant other to give them emotional support. This also leads to gratitude and respect. Fields suggests couples that are habitually focused on only seeing the negative in their partner’s behavior try a Three-Minute Fix which involves finding and sharing three positive qualities that they’re appreciative or grateful for in their mate.