Shadowing Practice: Dr. Orna Guralnik: Couples Therapy 101 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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what is up daddy gang it is your founding father alex cooper with call her daddy
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dr orna goralnik welcome back to call her daddy i am in shock
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that it's been what i think it's three plus years right unbelievable
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i i i sort of didn't feel like it was three years i it feels like a year
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and a half ago right yeah i guess it's also
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because like we do stay connected and we do communicate through email
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which makes me so happy um
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but we haven't literally seen each other in three plus years
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which is bananas to me to anyone who is new here daddy gang orna is a psychologist and psychoanalyst
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and she is the star on the docuseries couples therapy where you counsel real patients about their lives in their couple dynamic.
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And a new season is coming out.
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Yes.
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And Matt is screwed.
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Because when a new season of couples therapy comes out,
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I go MIA, I sit in my room and I binge the entire thing in one sitting.
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So thank you.
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Okay, you have to explain to me how you process all of that information like in one binge.
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I think it's because I get so invested in these people's lives.
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And I want to know, like, are they going to stay together?
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Are they going to progress?
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Like, what is the trauma that they're about to uncover?
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And like, I think it feels like the most real show I've ever watched.
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Like, you're so incredible at extracting information from people in a way that makes them feel comfortable.
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But also, like, you fall in love with these people, you know?
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And I love that we get to see their home life and we get to see them as, like, real humans.
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And it's not just this, like, fake facade of, like, a fun show to watch people talk about trauma.
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So I'll be binging.
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I'm very, very curious to talk to you after you watch the show.
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On this show, I have been so open about my therapy journey.
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I've been open about
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having a psychologist as a mother and just like what that has allowed me to embrace in my life,
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maybe where people who were raised in a home that like weren't as open about therapy, it has more of like a negative connotation and stigma
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but couples therapy I feel like everyone now is like oh my gosh get into therapy it's the best thing
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but couples therapy still has this negative connotation for couples why do you think
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there's such a big stigma around it well I think first of all there's this I don't remember
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if we talked about it last time
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but there's this like really intense firewall around couples in general well people do not like to share the fact
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that they're having struggles
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and trouble in their couple's relationship with other people
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there's some need to kind of preserve a certain kind of
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um some kind of facade of what a couple is like especially
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when people get married um so in
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that sense it's not only the couple's therapy it's just the idea
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that couples are having trouble is very scary for people
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they don't want to talk about it they don't want to expose it.
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It's almost like they're calling in bad spirits if they talk about it.
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It's a good point.
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And I also think there's a fear of if you share too much in a vulnerable moment,
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then when the next day you're fine and you're at the park and you're smiling, you almost feel this shame of like, oh, I'm embarrassed.
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And I feel like I can't recover from what I shared
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like I definitely had moments in the very beginning of my
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relationship with Matt where like I would share with a friend
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if we had a fight and then I felt a little awkward
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because I'm like well we're still together but like we worked through it
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and and then the friend is almost like wanting to check in on you
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and you kind of don't want to keep bringing it up
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so it's like there's this like social element of you don't need to they don't see everything right Okay.
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And when you share the bad, they also don't want to leave that bad impression.
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And also you're responsible.
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You have another person's trust in your hand.
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Yeah.
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So talking about it, it's a little bit like, does your partner have the consent?
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Have they given the consent?
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It's complicated.
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How does someone know if they should start couples therapy with their partner?
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Funny people ask me that.
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Um, I'm not of the, of the school that believes that everyone should be in couples therapy and it's always good.
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I don't think so.
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Um, I think there's a certain kind of window in which couples therapy is a good idea.
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If you're in a relationship and you feel like there's a certain kind of pattern
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that feels destructive and not like not a growth pattern
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that keeps repeating and you and your partner are trying different ways to change it and nothing's changing.
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You feel like you're kind of stuck
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and whatever you're doing is just either repetitive
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or making things worse that's a good time to bring in a third person
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and and try to get some perspective on it do you feel like
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if someone comes to you and is like i'm terrified he's gonna cheat
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and you're like well has he given you any reason to
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that he's gonna cheat and she's like no but my past
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and whatever then it's like would you ever be like
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so you probably need to go to individual therapy right okay yes
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because it's like that that's not a good idea to go to couples therapy in
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that moment right before anything that happens right I mean
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but people sometimes do
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that it's like they think of it as like premarital counseling
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like tell me how to like avoid all the problems
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that life is going to present me with
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and it's like there's no way right life's going to present you with problems
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and patterns are going to emerge
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and you can't like protect yourself against it it's life it's like go in
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and live it and and when you need to get someone to help you and then on the other end of things.
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If people wait too long, sometimes it's too late, really.
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I mean, it's a very sad thing.
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But, you know, I see sometimes a couple that come in after years
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and years of slogging it and kind of avoiding the problem or repeating issues.
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And by the time they come in, there's just like not enough goodwill left in them, not enough love or not enough hope.
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And as much as they try it's really hard to resurrect the relationship
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so that's interesting so that's kind of the window for me okay what
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if someone's sitting here listening orna
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and is like i want to go to couples therapy
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so badly but my partner refuses
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and has no interest like common how do you deal with
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that there's one thing which is to get over the hump of starting therapy
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which often one person is more resistant and more scared of doing
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that um and that getting over that particular or hump of just the beginning is not, I don't think it's a big deal.
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I mean, I can tell people, look, just like ask your partner, give it a try or barter, you know, say something like,
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if you come with me to couples therapy, I'll offer this for you.
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I'll go your way in some other way.
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You know, we can go like take that trip I've always refused to do, or I don't know.
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Yeah.
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So getting people through the door is not that hard,
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but then it's the job of the therapist to make sure that both people feel like it's a safe place.
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It's a place where both of them can get something out of it.
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Because I think what often people are afraid of is
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that they're going to be dragged into a therapist's office
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and they're going to be ganged up on
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and everyone's going to try to force them to give up something that matters to them,
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to change in a way that they don't feel is right for them, or it's not going to be for them.
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And, you know, the job of the therapist is to make sure that you're really helping the couple, not one person.
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And I think once two people feel like they're really being heard, and that they both have something to gain from it,
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they're going to want to stay.
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Yeah, I think that's what is a huge misconception about couples therapy from the person
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that is not wanting to go and is kind of reluctant.
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Like, I think so many people are like, I'm literally going to get attacked.
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Yeah.
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And I guess there, if you could like explain to people maybe that are listening, like what can they expect in couples therapy?
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Because you're right.
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I think people are terrified of it.
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I think that the person that sets it up, the other person is like, oh, you guys have a plan and I'm not in on it.
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And you guys are going to try to like push me into a corner.
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Like how would you explain it to someone who has never done it but is a little trepidatious about going into it,
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but it's like, Orna, what am I going to walk into?
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That's a really good question.
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I think what I would say to people is like, think about therapy,
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about couples therapy as a place where you have the chance to really imagine what you want out of the relationship.
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and to have in the therapist an ally of the relationship someone who can help you
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and your partner get to something
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that you actually want together meaning it's not a situation where anyone should feel cornered i mean there are moments
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when people are gonna face difficult things about themselves
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and be asked to grow and expand and maybe give more than they're used to.
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But the ultimate idea is that you're there to gain.
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You're there to gain something that matters to you.
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And if that's not happening in therapy, you're not in the right place.
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I think that's incredible to hear though, because I think anyone
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that hasn't been raised around therapy being a healthy happy positive thing it's a really intimidating experience to even conceptualize
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because you're picturing someone staring at you judging you right and
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that is intimidating because vulnerability is intimidating in the first place
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and to have someone that's like a specialist
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I could see someone who's not aware of how a therapist actually acts towards
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you could be like oh this bitch is gonna fucking judge me
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and it's gonna tell me i have all this trauma
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and it's gonna be painful yes yeah
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and why are we opening all this up i'm fine right now yeah
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and it's like well you're fine until the next fight starts
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and then you go back to your patterns
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because of whatever happened in your childhood
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when you were in your home the way your parents treated you
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that you like it's all connected like why people don't go for example to have a mammogram
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or a colonoscopy that they're both like afraid
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that it's going to be painful fear
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and they're afraid of like what they're going to find out
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and that is not what happens in therapy
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so true it's it should feel i mean it's not like you know luna park it's not like fun fun
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but it should feel like an enriching good experience of like
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being heard understanding someone else kind of in a richer deeper way there's clarity yeah
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and truth yeah
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so i'm curious I feel like a huge part of the show is people come to you
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and are trying to learn how to manage conflict.
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I mean, it's like that's every relationship.
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How do we fight?
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How do we communicate?
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How are we going to handle these things?
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What is the biggest mistake that you see people making when arguing with their partner?
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There's people, I don't know if to call it a mistake, but I think where conversations go wrong, where conflict goes wrong is first of all,
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just on the simple level of, um, level of agitation.
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Like, again, like I was talking earlier about like a window, like a good window, there's a good window in which decent conversations can happen.
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And that's when you're not either too upset or too activated
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or too wounded that you can't actually process
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and then the conversation is not a real conversation it's just like either a crying screaming whatever match um
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and on the other end you can people can feel
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so um shut down or hopeless
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that they're not really engaging there's a they're withdrawing from the conversation so
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so the the maybe the most basic thing for people for
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a good conversation for good conflict would be to make sure you're in the right zone.
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You're not too shut down and you're not too over whatever agitated.
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The other big kind of still tactical issue is,
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and this is, it might seem just tactical, but it's actually pretty deep.
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Are you noticing when you're busy trying to convince your partner of something?
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And when are you actually trying to understand?
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them.
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Shots fired.
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Yeah.
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Right.
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It's huge.
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It seems like it should be simple, right?
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Right.
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But it's huge.
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And I see it in my couples.
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I actually just had a session with a couple this morning, um, where they kind of realized that difference and what,
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how it will change things if they really move into deep listening mode rather than convincing, convincing.
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Right.
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And it changes everything it does because it's like
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when you're in those moments
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you almost have blinders on where you're like i will get him to understand my point hell
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or high water yeah
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and he's on the other side being like i need her to understand what i'm saying
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and so you're just like hitting a wall
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and it's bouncing back at you and you feel crazy
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and you're like no how don't you hear me like
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and then it's like
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if you can get to a better yes you're literally yeah nothing is penetrating yeah it's like
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and people get increasingly frustrated both sides get increasingly because it's not a conversation it's not on the show you say
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and this is kind of what we're talking about,
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but I think this is like a huge thing for my listeners that they always write in about.
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You talk about how there is usually
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so much more to the fight than what the couple is actually specifically arguing about in that moment.
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How does one step back and see the bigger picture?
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Because it's difficult.
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Very.
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I think, I think the, you know, when, when it's in the heat of the moment, when, when the iron is hot,
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I think it's a lot to ask of people to really know always what's going on
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and what might be feeding the superficial fight.
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I think maybe a realistic thing to ask of people is to have a voice in there that says to,
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one says to oneself, I'm sure it's not only about this.
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There must be other things going on for me that I'm not exactly aware of right now.
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I'm going to, if I need to, if I feel like I'm getting too,
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you know, there could be signals that you're getting too heated about something that shouldn't be.
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And then you can say to yourself, maybe I should pause, think about it for a while and come back to the conversation,
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not in the heat of it.
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But just to maintain this kind of kernel of curiosity, I have an unconscious, there might be other things going on here.
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There are signals that that you give yourself when you're like, when you get too excited about something too upset,
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like when there's a feeling that you get when, when something else is going on.
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Yep.
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I love that in the show though, when you have those moments with someone, because again, I think like sometimes in romantic relationships,
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there's a dynamic that you're trying to sustain.
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And like the ego does come into play sometimes.
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And so I understand
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when i watch people on the show like one person doesn't want to give it up but then
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when you ask the brilliant question of like can we pause for a minute what do you think
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this out what else is this about for you like what
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happened like what was your relationship with your mother yeah
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and then all of a sudden the person goes down a spiral like well she never gave me attention
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and i was always fighting for attention for my mother
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and then all of a sudden before she even finishes the sentence she's like oh i guess it's
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because she she never is looking at me in a way
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that i feel like i'm having to like ask her for attention like it's all these inner dynamics
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that we had growing up i know that when it's in the moment when you're
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when your partner triggers you let's say in the way your mom triggered
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you it's very hard in those moments to like step out
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and say oh it's my mother issues that are playing out right now
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because it feels so real and so intense in the moment.
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It's hard.
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It's hard for people to do.
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Do you have any advice?
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How do we check in on ourselves and determine if we're picking a fight quite literally just for the thrill of conflict?
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I think people do love conflict.
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Yes.
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Give us some advice, Orna.
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I like that you're saying that, the thrill of conflict, because I talk to people about that.
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People don't usually like to acknowledge that.
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I think what I would say is,
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first of all, it's great to acknowledge that there is such a thing as the thrill of conflict.
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Okay.
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And I'm going to say something even slightly provocative.
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There's nothing bad with that.
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Okay.
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I know.
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Like, who is she?
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No, I'm not like, I don't think like the, I mean, people are different in what they need in their relationship.
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But I think sometimes people who need to have fights
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or pick on each other or let out some steam through the relationship or, I think that's okay.
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I mean, it's relationships are not supposed to be this kind of hallmark, picture perfect, like, sweetness thing.
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Right.
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It's a place where people live and discharge on each other
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and use each other and in small ways betray each other and recover.
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I think that's life.
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And I think for people not to be so hard on each other for using each other in that way, for living in the relationship,
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it's just like, you know, I often talk about the fact that I don't, I don't use like, I don't even use coasters on my furniture.
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I'm like furniture is to be used like like leave a stain
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and cut through the board and and it's like that's what it's here for
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and relationships are like
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that too you want the relationship to be in a live place I think where it gets um problematic is
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if you're really hurting each other and if there's something too pernicious about it
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or if like the thrill of injury is what takes over or of retaliation or injury,
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that's when I'm like, I draw the line and I'm like, no, that is not, you're not there to like.
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um abuse each other and not every fight is an abuse that's a really great point
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because i think
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when couples say like oh we had a fight like most of the time
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you could also change it to like we had an argument
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or like we had a disagreement yeah and i think
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when you're right though like it it can be healthy to have fights because you're working through something
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but there is a difference between a fight and then something
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that is like absolutely abusing the relationship and is getting you nowhere
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and it's just to push and hurt
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but i love what you said though um about how there should be conflict
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and these relationships like we're living in them i think we've watched growing up for decades
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and decades like historically
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when you think of romantic relationships
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they're held on a different pedestal than every other relationship in
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our life like who the hell has a perfect relationship with
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their parents with their siblings with their friends like of course you're gonna have conflict disagreements growing pains with friends
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and family why do we think that that wouldn't also be true
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and present in romantic relationships the person you're the closest to right yeah
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that you have to like live with and wake up with
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and like load the dishwasher with right right
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and i think that's like it it's it's helpful to talk about
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that to make people feel better of like of course no relationship is perfect but
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when your primary dynamics were in the household
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you were growing up in of course families are going to fight now your new family
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that you're building of course there's going to be problems
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but it's how do we actually like address the problems is it to be cutting
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and to go beneath the bell and to make the person feel bad?
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Or is it like you're talking through a disagreement
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and like you're going to sit at the table all night till you guys can find a way to come back together?
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I need to know, and this is for all the daddy gang out there that are like, don't call us out.
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Why do some people find toxic relationships so exciting and so addicting.
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Okay.
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Good question.
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How would we frame it?
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I mean, the more kind of classical psychoanalytic way to think about like why people get pulled towards like abusive
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and toxic relationships is Thank you that it's some form of what we call in jargon repetition compulsion,
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where something is unresolved, let's say a past dynamic is unresolved or past trauma,
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or a way that you were treated in an earlier stage of your life is unresolved and unworked through,
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and you're kind of looking for some way to repeat the same issue that you haven't resolved.
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Whether it's to master it, to come out of it better,
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or because there's just this kind of compulsion to just repeat the same thing.
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So that's one reason people get stuck on toxic relationships.
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But there are other ways to think about it like toxic relationships one of the things they do
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and toxic relationships I mean sometimes it's too wide a term
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I like I think maybe not I don't think
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we need to go as far as like it's abusive
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it's just like this very unhealthy like this person is constantly
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playing games constantly like is there a version of like little
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gaslighting like it's not full -blown gas like you know
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I mean yeah um it's you know I often try to like
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when I talk to people about like they're clinging on to relationships that are not good for them sometimes it's um
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when a person feels on some level damage or bad about themselves or um
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shame about certain aspects of themselves they at times go for situations that reinforce that view of themselves
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interesting because as you were saying
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that I was having a moment where I was thinking about
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when I was in college I had been like super insecure
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when I was younger and I would go for these men
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that like it was like I was trying to get the the guy
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that was so unattainable and
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when I would get him I was like playing the game back
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but there was a part of me that like enjoyed it
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because it felt like it was like validating to me like you got him like you did it
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and it was almost like healing the wounds of me feeling like no guy wanted me
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when I was younger and like I would get picked on
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and so when I would get these guys that was like the captain of the hockey team it was like
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Like I almost was going for like in my brain accolades of like I want to get
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there to prove it was more to prove to myself I can.
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I never felt fulfilled.
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I never felt happy.
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But it was like I was replaying, oh, if I was younger, these are the things I wish I could have done.
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And then I got there.
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I'm like, oh, this isn't fun.
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Right.
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Like I don't feel happy.
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I don't feel seen.
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But it was like an ego thing almost.
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Right.
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And you can and that is in a certain way you're trying to repair something.
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Yeah but sometimes it's, I mean, you can in a way flip it and you can see people who are not doing it to repair.
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They're doing it actually to just keep telling themselves, I suck.
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I suck.
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And what do you, what is that mostly from childhood that creates that?
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I mean, you can think of it as masochism, but it's, it's like, um, it's a, it's being stuck on a certain kind of repeat.
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It's, um, self negating.
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I mean, people do all sorts of neurotic things that are bad for them.
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That's why we have psychoanalysis.
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There are many ways that people do things that are bad for them.
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Have you found through psychoanalysis any repeating pattern from childhood
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that would make someone constantly try to remind themselves of how they're not worthy, not good enough?
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Can you share just a couple examples?
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Well, the classic example, I mean, it's kind of an extreme example
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but think of the classic pattern of people who've been let's say sexually abused as children
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and then in teenage years they're like they enter like a series of like abusive promiscuous relationships
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that just make them feel like shit
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because that's the only way they can they know how to think of themselves
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it's like an endless self -punishing cycle it's very I mean
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it's like a very particular kind of dynamic with people who've had like early abuse
436
that it takes like deep work to move out of
437
that pattern but you know that's so helpful yeah I think
438
because I think again why I appreciate these type of conversations in the show is like
439
I think a lot of people who maybe have not even begun to like experience therapy
440
or thought about it or just wasn't a part of their upbringing like
441
that statement alone could would be crazy to people like hold on
442
so someone that was abused is now going to go and like
443
and put themselves in harm's way right
444
and they'd be like wait what like I think they just never have sex for the rest of their life
445
and they'd be shut down that's just not the case
446
but I think these type of conversations help explain to people like the intricacy of trauma
447
and how it unfolds in your adult life but I appreciate you sharing
448
that because I'm sure I mean one in every what three women like
449
so many women listening to this show may be sitting
450
there like oh my god Orna yeah I think I'm I think I'm doing
451
that and how do you even begin to like what just therapy
452
and talking through it I know the work of therapy I mean there are other ways
453
that people deal with issues
454
but in psychoanalytic work what we do is we I mean
455
this is like a yeah it's different with each person
456
but um you basically the idea is that you try to go back
457
and revisit the actual experience
458
and help the person
459
now with their more mature mind really tend to what happened
460
to them to the injuries to to what was missing try
461
to imagine how things could get better like you really try to tend to all the areas
462
that were disavowed and neglected over the years and heal.
463
And I understand why that sounds absolutely terrifying to people.
464
Yeah.
465
Like people with that type of trauma or any type of trauma, you're like, hold on Orna, I'm supposed to go back and relive it.
466
Right.
467
Are you crazy?
468
Like I put it away.
469
I tucked it away.
470
Right.
471
But I think what people realize
472
when they come out on the other side of it is there's such power
473
and resilience you feel within yourself when you can go back
474
and you can start to take control over your own life
475
and not let this thing that happened to you yeah define you yeah
476
because it does start to define you
477
when you don't right address it it comes up in your romantic
478
and your friendships and every part of your work life um
479
and that's when it gets terrifying and people it's
480
so important for people to feel like they're not like you're saying defined by bad things
481
that happened to them in the past, that they have some freedom, some degrees of freedom out of that.
482
Yeah.
483
Back to couples, how big of a role does sex play in a healthy relationship?
484
Um, it's funny.
485
I just saw something in the, in the times today that I haven't read yet,
486
but about like people that are talking about how sex is not that important in their marriage.
487
I think it varies a lot.
488
I think not only is sex like a you know this kind of domain
489
that could goes anywhere and people have like all possible things in their mind
490
and in their bodies and that can transpire between them
491
and sex is like a huge terrain but um the importance of sex
492
and like what meaning people assign to sex in their relationship varies a lot.
493
Um, I think for some people having an ongoing connection through the body through sexuality is incredibly grounding.
494
Um, and without that they feel, um, unmoored
495
and for other people it's not like their main
496
it's not where they live
497
it's not where the essence of their life is i mean for some people
498
it might be like in the far out intellectual domain and
499
and the body is kind of a sort of byproduct
500
that they tag along but they really live in their mind
501
and they want to live there with their partner it really varies a lot between people
502
because i've had conversations with friends
503
and i have a large spectrum as you would expect like i have one friend
504
that's like my parents weren't overly affectionate so i don't find myself like
505
i don't like need sex i actually just like crave more conversation exactly whereas i have other friends
506
that are like oh i like the only way i know
507
that we're like in a good place is
508
if like we've gone too long without sex i'm like what's wrong with us like are we disconnected yeah and And I,
509
though I'm curious, if you have a couple where one is on one side of the spectrum
510
and one is on the other, that then that's tough, right?
511
It's tough.
512
Definitely.
513
It's tough.
514
If people come into the relationship with very different, let's say, love languages or inclinations, that is tough.
515
What's interesting is that couples might start off not that different from each other.
516
I mean, one might be more physically affectionate
517
or have like a stronger libido or like find sexes like where they express themselves and the other maybe a little less.
518
Sometimes what happens, and that is a problem, is that people.
519
work out other tensions or difficulties through in that arena, and then they polarize.
520
So someone could, I mean, the bedroom is often where people, sadly, work out other agendas.
521
So someone could be like mad at their partner for,
522
I don't know, like not picking up the slack or taking care of the kid or whatever, and withhold sex.
523
It's easy for them to withhold sex because that's not exactly their mode of operating.
524
But for the other party, it might feel like the worst kind of punishment and like the most threatening thing to do.
525
And then you get into the dynamic of polarization.
526
So they may not have started so different, but they're working out some other issue in that domain.
527
And that is a problem.
528
Well, that's also a problem because the person
529
that is not let's say as this is just I'm just throwing
530
this out there sexual I'm that's not the actual right term
531
but if the person that's not as sexual in the relationship has the power right
532
because they're holding the keys to the sexual relationship right
533
and the person
534
that wants it is then at times probably feeling like I'm such the pursuer constantly yeah
535
I feel like I'm being rejected I feel like I'm not getting the love
536
I want where the other person is like all you care about is sex
537
because you just keep coming to me for it.
538
But then they're like, well, because you never come to me for it.
539
And they're like, because you're always wanting it.
540
And it's like, how the hell do you like, how do you approach a conversation,
541
I guess, when you're in these dynamics with these couples to like bring them back to center?
542
There's no one size fits all.
543
I mean, it really with each couple, it's a different thing.
544
but what I find happens a lot in couples therapy is
545
that you have to try to separate
546
if people are trying to negotiate other issues in a way to pull it out of the bedroom interesting
547
if you've got issues that you're working on
548
if you're resentful about other things just try not for the bedroom to be the arena where you're like working
549
it out unless it really is about the bedroom right
550
if you both have just complete different sex drives like how do you approach a conversation with your partner is
551
if you are dissatisfied in the bedroom like how do we
552
because that's a tough conversation and can be awkward tough conversation
553
and I would actually probably start off by assuming
554
I mean unless it's a very verbal couple I would actually not start with language okay Okay.
555
A lot of sexual needs and differences.
556
It's great to resolve.
557
I mean, if you're going to try to work on it, to do it in real time through the body, like signal through the body,
558
through nonverbal ways, what you want, what you need, experiment with things.
559
And I guess it depends on the couple, like what works for them, working it out in real time or working it out.
560
Like when you're not in the middle of a sexual encounter
561
when vulnerabilities are high passion is high it's a tricky thing to use language in those moments it's
562
so tricky because i mean unless you're in deep deep therapy like you got to be very careful
563
because you can completely shut down and like i agree to not like gender it
564
but like it let's say it is the woman coming to the man like it can just make them feel
565
so shut down where they're like how long have you been thinking about this you're dissatisfied they're feeling emasculated
566
or roles reverse the man comes to
567
and you're feeling like oh my god have you not been enjoying the sex every time
568
we're having sex who are you thinking of like sex is a very very vulnerable thing in a relationship
569
and i think you're i never thought about it
570
that way you're right it's like
571
if you can address it first with your body like let's say the person is dissatisfied
572
because ever i'm making this up like every time
573
you're having sex with your partner you're feeling like it's you're disconnected like you're having physical sex
574
but it just feels physical and there's no connection okay well instead of saying
575
that like you're right or not like maybe you're
576
when is the last time in the morning are you hugging
577
and kissing before you each leave for work
578
or no you're just kind of ships in the night
579
and you see each other and of course
580
when you're having sex of course it doesn't feel intimate
581
and special are you hugging are you touching do you hold hands like you want more connection of intimacy
582
when you're having sex put intimacy throughout the rest of your relationship first before like you're right like lead with
583
that and then all of a sudden do it while you're intimate
584
while you're having sex i mean there are ways
585
that people can increase that kind of intimacy
586
while they're having sex not through words right looking at each other kissing
587
while you're having sex like maybe you guys never kissed
588
while you're having sex
589
that could feel a little like isolating where you're like this could be anyone
590
so I love that advice
591
because I do feel a lot of people write into me
592
just like I literally don't know how to tell my partner like I'm not happy
593
I think that's like a very non -daunting way to go about it.
594
It's like first just slowly trying to make those steps yourself within the relationship
595
and you don't have to have this big like blow up conversation.
596
Yeah.
597
Why blow up at all?
598
I mean, when we're talking about sex,
599
I mean, there's the other thing which is like frame things as requests as opposed to as complaints.
600
I mean, that's always a good piece of advice, which is like translate what's bothering you into a request, into an ask rather than a complaint
601
i mean the outcome could be very different can you give
602
us an example of like how it would be bad to say a verse a good way to say
603
it like you never kiss me versus let's kiss
604
it sounds so simple but like it's so not that simple
605
when you're in the moment and he's like doing the dishes
606
and you're like okay here i go here i go why don't you kiss me yeah ever
607
when we have sex you never kiss me i don't know the last time
608
that you've made out with me we're having sex
609
and he's literally like mid dishwash what happened what what just happened
610
and meanwhile it's like you also i think something i've learned in therapy a lot
611
and we did it in couples therapy was like something
612
that you have been holding on to that's why it's
613
so good to not hold on to things for too long in a relationship
614
because then you've had 19 conversations with yourself right
615
and they have no idea you've been thinking this right
616
so then when it comes out it can literally feel like a war
617
and the person is like oh my god what is happening i thought our sex life was right recently yeah
618
so you're right it's like hey you know what i would love to make out
619
when we're having sex i was thinking about
620
that like i love making out with you why don't we do it
621
when we have sex like making
622
i wouldn't even say why don't oh don't say why don't
623
nope let's let's shall we yeah shall we to the best as opposed to why don't we
624
but it's i love these conversations with you orner because
625
when we are going on our day -to -day lives like it is hard to remember all these things
626
and sometimes it's good to just have these slow down conversations of like
627
all of us are the way we are
628
because of everything that's come before us within our lives and
629
when you're standing across from your partner it is not just the day we met on our first date
630
and forward it's like no no no life existed before this person
631
and what happened to you um I'm curious like
632
when we talk about past trauma
633
because I think this is something that's like a misconception
634
I think a lot of most people assume we're talking about extreme situations
635
which we can of course we could do a whole episode on extreme situations like abuse
636
but can you talk about other types of childhood dynamics that can impact us in adulthood
637
Yeah, of course.
638
I mean, first of all, I think it's quite popular now to talk about attachment styles.
639
But the very first patterns of relatedness that we establish with the people that take care of us,
640
often parents, not always, they will influence the rest of our lives.
641
They will set the kind of expectations we have.
642
For example, a simple and very important thing, like if you need something and you make an ask to the world,
643
will the world respond or not?
644
Like you're saying if you asked your parents when you were younger for help on something and before even ask for help,
645
like your diaper was wet and you started crying.
646
How long did it take for your parent to get there and change your diaper?
647
If you were colicky and you had like incredible stomach aches, was it even possible to help you with it?
648
Sometimes it's really difficult to help colicky babies and they start off the world with some idea that when I'm in distress,
649
the world can't always help me oh my god yeah it's like it's really like basic stuff
650
of like what what to expect from like the world like can't do i have
651
that like incredible trust that
652
when i'm in distress help will come those are really early things
653
that get established and they're not always because of neglect
654
or abuse sometimes it's just like again i mean you can be a colicky baby
655
or you could have all sorts of ways that your system is dysregulated
656
and it's very hard to take care of you as a baby
657
and then you start off with a pattern of I don't know what to call it mistrust
658
or some way that the call and response is yeah not established well
659
but I think it's important to just like highlight
660
that for a minute
661
because I can imagine a lot of people listening are like oh
662
I don't have trauma compared to my friend like my friend went this through this
663
or was abused when she was younger or did it.
664
And like, I don't have trauma.
665
It's like everyone has something that we all are the way we are because of our upbringing.
666
And I think that
667
when we.. instead of being like well my stuff is not as bad take care of yourself
668
and also recognize like hey
669
if you find yourself in a pattern in romantic relationships we're like why do I keep doing this oh
670
and it does kind of show up at work too like I'm always pulling away
671
when someone's being nice to me I can't take a compliment
672
or I can't like as simple as that yeah where does
673
that come from and I think
674
when we start to ask ourselves the questions yes it leads us down this like little dark path
675
but it's exciting to know that there is an answer yeah
676
and you can resolve it
677
and the answer could be like really interesting actually to go down that path
678
and try to figure out it's actually it's really interesting it is it's fascinating that's why i told you
679
when i binge this show that's my answer
680
when i binge couples therapy it's because why i love it
681
and i can sit and i can handle it is like one
682
because that's just how my mother raised me like let's talk for 19 hours
683
and then some
684
but it really comes down to like I'm fascinated by the human experience of like we all grow up
685
and like what triggers did we experience to make us afraid of intimacy
686
or overly intimate and overly trusting or reserved
687
or outwardly like very dramatic in moments and people see it as dramatic
688
but really what is it is it a cry for attention
689
because you yeah it's interesting it's endless like I love
690
it call her daddy is brought to you by t -mobile daddy gang there are honestly
691
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693
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694
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695
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696
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697
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698
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699
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700
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701
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702
it makes sense right for all the reasons to choose
703
t -mobile find yours at t -mobile .com slash membership qualifying plan required visit t -mobile .com
704
question i think is very interesting is i actually had this from a fan was
705
which is where should someone draw the line between being supportive
706
of their partner versus taking on way too much of their partner's trauma as their own?
707
I think that the question itself is an important one.
708
There's a difference between caring for another person and taking care of them and getting kind of enmeshed,
709
symbiotic, lost in someone else, which is not actually an act of care.
710
it's something else um it's i guess what in in lay language is called kind of codependency
711
you know it makes me think a little bit about um
712
raising children doing everything for them is not always the best
713
thing figure out like what do they need for their own independence
714
and development when are you overdoing for your child
715
because of your own issues issues like in a way using
716
your child to to work through something versus seeing them for who they are
717
and and when do they need a bit of support and
718
when do you need to step back and
719
and let them do their own thing i mean
720
that's kind of a a very good learning ground for this difference between like overdoing it
721
and and doing it right out of care um i think there are many reasons why people get codependent
722
that are not about care for the other person.
723
Share with me.
724
I mean, you can come like a million reasons why, like getting lost in someone else because you don't want to face something in yourself.
725
You're escaping like your own stuff, insecurities, all sorts of avoidance tactics.
726
I think maybe what I'm trying to say is
727
that it's important to try to ask yourself am i getting super involved
728
because i care for the well -being of this person
729
or am i answering some need of mine here hard hard to decipher that's what i was gonna say
730
because like is it is it fucked up to say like someone that has like secure attachment
731
would probably never get themselves completely down a rabbit hole in that situation because They would be like, hold on.
732
love you so much, but like, you need help.
733
And I can't get this to you where maybe it immediately turns on a light for someone of like, I'm needed.
734
I'm wanted.
735
They need me.
736
And then it becomes codependent because again, back to the beginning of this episode,
737
it's just feeling actually something within them to take care of that person.
738
And of course they think they love them and they're trying, but it also is like completely filling their cup by being like,
739
they need me and I'm here and I'm the caretaker.
740
And I didn't have that when I was younger.
741
So now I'm going to take on
742
that role like whatever it is that's a really great way of describing it yes
743
but do you think it's almost like in a way also to help someone with
744
that question is like is this too dramatic to be like it's almost like
745
when if you're dating someone that has a substance abuse problem you literally are cannot help
746
that person to a certain extent of course you can drive them to rehab
747
but they have to walk in the doors they have to participate in the healing
748
and you're not a professional to help the healing right so
749
when someone has this trauma you can be there
750
and cry with them and hold them
751
but it only goes to a certain extent where you're then both being brought down
752
and if anything you could be prohibiting them from actually seeking real help
753
because there's this like codependency of like we're going to do this together right you can't you can't do that together.
754
I agree.
755
They need, they need a you.
756
Yeah.
757
Well, yeah.
758
Or a me or, uh, an AA situation or yeah.
759
More questions from our fans.
760
What are some signs the relationship is moving too fast?
761
You know, a relationship has ideally it, I'm saying this and I'm immediately contradicting myself in my mind, but okay.
762
Okay.
763
Let me say the first thing.
764
Okay.
765
A relationship has typically like a developmental arc
766
it takes a lot of time to get to know another person
767
I always feel like with my patients
768
it takes me two years to feel like I know
769
this person really yeah my god yeah
770
I wonder how my therapist feels about me how long have
771
you been seeing them over two years yeah for sure I feel like there's a moment in
772
which suddenly it's like oh all the pieces are coming together.
773
Now I get this person.
774
It takes a long time to get to know a person.
775
And I think the idea of like moving too fast is when you assume you know more than you do.
776
When you think you've got it, you understood everything about them,
777
you get it, They understood you and in a way you're blocking all the areas
778
that create the discomfort of realizing I don't know that person.
779
That person doesn't know me, which is scary.
780
It's uncomfortable.
781
It's scary.
782
I think people sometimes have an inclination to want to avoid
783
that and rush so that they don't sit through the discomfort of like otherness and unfamiliarity and awkwardness,
784
which is part of getting to know a person.
785
There's going to be a lot of awkwardness.
786
So much awkwardness.
787
Yeah.
788
And I like that you're saying that because I have had women write in being like,
789
Alex, i'm officially 30 i'm like you're so young enjoy it
790
and it's like no no no i've got to find a husband
791
and i'm always so worried
792
because it's like listen i think there's moments also where we completely project our wants onto someone
793
and they could be literally sitting at a dinner with you being like yeah
794
so i have this trauma you're like oh my god
795
you know where we should go this weekend we should go to cancun
796
and they're literally like you're just putting on them what exactly
797
you want i want a husband you look great you play the part
798
and it's like we sometimes just approach a relationship based off of what we want from it
799
and need from it yeah and we completely neglect the fact
800
that the person across from us is like i stranger yes
801
a complete stranger yeah and it's like this honeymoon phase i think the honeymoon phase can be
802
so tumultuous in the long run if you elongate it for too long
803
and the honeymoon phase is on you to decide
804
when it the bubble pops and you're like so you want actually who are you yeah literally
805
like tell me about your childhood like what what are you insecure about like what is something
806
that has been like one of the biggest hardships in your life like it's daunting
807
but again like you can hear an answer from someone
808
and be like oh I don't want to be with you
809
because of the way you're telling me you handled
810
that with this oh my god I couldn't relate to
811
that at all
812
but sometimes people go sometimes people I mean you've probably seen
813
it how long have you seen people go in a relationship where you can sit down with them
814
and they're married for like 30 years
815
and you're like do you guys know each other I know I know like how does
816
that happen it's actually shocking to me.
817
It's shocking to me.
818
Like that's possible, right?
819
It is possible.
820
I mean, it's like people who like their spouse says, I want to get divorced.
821
And I'll ask them, like somebody can show up for therapy and say, my spouse wants to divorce me.
822
And I'm like, well, what have they been saying to you over the years that will help us understand?
823
And they're like, I don't know.
824
What is that?
825
That is self -absorption how long does it usually take in therapy to come out a
826
while really a while i
827
and i think as we're wrapping up oh my god
828
i sound like a therapist as we're wrapping up you're like sobbing i have done
829
that with my therapist sometimes
830
and we're wrapping up alex i'm like wait my life's in shambles i appreciate you walking us through
831
that though at the end there
832
because i feel like the whole thesis of this episode is like truly trying to dive underneath all these decisions
833
that we are taking on our day -to -day just at face value oh
834
he treated me like shit oh she did this oh shit why yeah
835
there's always an answer sometimes we don't want to know it
836
but it can give you a lot of peace
837
when you do get underneath it and you know it thank you
838
so much this relationship that we have makes me
839
so happy i oh it does okay i don't know
840
you i'm like emailing you like hi orna no
841
i have like a deep great fondness for you yeah don't make me cry no
842
No, I really appreciate you and everything you do.
843
And I think this show is truly revolutionary.
844
We don't get to see therapy working from a start to finish moment.
845
And obviously I know it's not finished, but we don't get to see the like breaking down of humans
846
and like watching these inner dynamics come from beginning to wherever they're left, whether it's breaking up or staying together.
847
And so I think what you guys are doing is amazing and I'm addicted.
848
So I'll be watching.
849
Thank you.
850
We'll be right back.

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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección

Esta lección de conversación se basa en el vídeo “Dr. Orna Guralnik: Couples Therapy 101”. Este vídeo tiene 850 frases y 9989 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 57:16. El hablante habla a un ritmo natural de unas 174 palabras por minuto, cercano a una conversación cotidiana. El 87 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés, por lo que el vocabulario es fácil de seguir.

Vocabulario clave de este vídeo

15 palabras del vídeo que vale la pena aprender, con su pronunciación y significado:

PalabraPronunciaciónSignificado
daddy sustantivo/ˈdædi/papá, papaíto
trauma sustantivo/ˈtɹɔm.ə/traumatismo
therapist sustantivo/ˈθɛɹəpɪst/terapeuta
bedroom sustantivo/ˈbɛdˌɹum/alcoba, dormitorio
romantic adjetivo/ɹoʊˈmæn(t)ɪk/romántico
dynamic adjetivo/daɪˈnæm.ɪk/dinámico
toxic adjetivo/ˈtɒk.sɪk/tóxico
dynamics sustantivo/dɑɪˈnæm.ɪks/dinámica
binge sustantivo/bɪnd͡ʒ/atracón, comilona
curious adjetivo/ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs/curioso, tener curiosidad
vary verbo/ˈvɛəɹi/variar
thrill verbo/θɹɪl/emocionar, excitar
intimacy sustantivo/ˈɪn.tɪ.mə.si/intimidad
shock sustantivo/ʃɔk/choque
dramatic adjetivo/dɹəˈmætɪk/dramático

Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar

PalabraPronunciaciónSignificado
shut down verboapagar
come out verbo/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/revelarse, salir a la luz
figure out verboaveriguar, captar
wrap up verboenvolver, arrebujar
get over verbosuperar, sobreponerse a
grow up verbocrecer
show up verbocomparecer, personarse
talk through verboexplicar detalladamente, decir paso a paso

Frases que vale la pena repetir

Frases cortas y completas del vídeo que puedes reutilizar en la conversación diaria:

  • You have another person's trust in your hand.
  • How are we going to handle these things?
  • Do you have any advice?
  • How would we frame it?
  • Can you share just a couple examples?

Gramática en este vídeo

Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:

EstructuraEn el vídeo
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — una acción que empezó antes y continúahave you been thinking · have been holding · you've been thinking
Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahorait's been · haven't literally seen · I've ever watched
Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo haceis screwed · is brought · is offered
Oraciones de relativo who / which + oración — información extra sobre una persona o cosaanyone who is · people who were · thing which is

Pronunciación a tener en cuenta

El hablante usa 307 contracciones y formas reducidas, como you're, I'm, don't. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.

  • Los sonidos de “th”: therapist /ˈθɛɹəpɪst/, thrill /θɹɪl/, underneath /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/, worthy /ˈwɝ.ði/, beneath /bɪˈniːθ/
  • Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: shock /ʃɔk/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, establish /ɪˈstæb.lɪʃ/, passion /ˈpæʃən/, impression /ɪmˈpɹɛʃn̩/
  • Palabras largas — cuida el acento: intimacy /ˈɪn.tɪ.mə.si/, communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/, psychologist /ˌsaɪˈkɑl.ə.d͡ʒɪst/, disagreement /dɪsəˈɡɹiːmənt/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/

Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:

  • s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: scary /ˈskɛə.ɹi/, spectrum /ˈspɛktɹəm/, spouse /spaʊ̯s/, stigma /ˈstɪɡmə/, stomach /ˈstʌmək/
  • /v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: vary /ˈvɛəɹi/, versus /ˈvɝsəs/, convince /kənˈvɪns/, abusive /əˈbju.sɪv/, recover /ɹɪˈkʌvɚ/
  • /z/ — sonora, no /s/: deposit /dɪˈpɑ.zɪt/, resolve /ɹɪˈzɑlv/, pause /pɔːz/, whereas /(h)wɛɹˈæz/, physically /ˈfɪz.ɪ.kli/

Cómo practicar con este vídeo

  1. Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
  2. Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
  3. Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como daddy, trauma, therapist.

¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?

Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.

Técnica de shadowing: lee la guía completa paso a paso →