Irina Zhuravleva

Listen — think for a moment: did someone from your past ever make you feel like you weren’t enough before you even entered this relationship?...

Some people and certain circumstances can completely override your common sense — even if you didn’t grow up with trauma. You can be navigating life...

Here’s why a regular weekly check-in can be the thing that rescues your relationship: so often we shy away from the hard conversations. Especially men...

May I offer a piece of advice? Don’t allow tenderness to fade from your partnership; don’t let romance fall by the wayside. You often don’t...

Let’s be honest for a moment: being rejected hurts. It bites. Whether it’s a job you wanted, a friendship, or a relationship you invested in,...

Okay, pay attention — if you don’t get a handle on your fears, they’ll undermine your relationship the way mine did. Consider anxious and avoidant...

Why is it that every time I mention men helping with the dishes the response always swings back to money? What does money have to...

When I first began teaching about trauma, I never imagined that one of the most persistent, defining consequences of childhood abuse and neglect would also...

The paradox of emotional unavailability is that you can close yourself off so completely that you lose the awareness that you’re shut down in the...

Okay, correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems like when you constantly go out of your way for a partner who never returns the...

Have you ever noticed that sudden, unsettling change — the moment lively exchanges evaporate and conversation becomes a hollow echo? When messages go unanswered and...

You’ve endured enough silence in your life, haven’t you? That heavy, unsettling quiet that follows their disappearance — the rooms that still seem to echo...

The early phase of a romantic relationship—especially after a long period of solitude or when you fear you may never be truly loved—can feel all-consuming....

Alright — is this an appropriate place for me to vent? Can I safely get something off my chest? Someone left a nice comment about...

Successful partnerships are not the product of chance; they are built deliberately. They don’t exist simply because you happened upon the right person — even...

It’s heartbreaking when caregivers overlook a child whose need for affection, attention and safety is as vital as eating, breathing and drinking. If you grew...

People who genuinely love you and care about your wellbeing will pay attention to what you require from the relationship in order to feel safe,...

“Productivity crash” is a phrase I coined to describe a recurring pattern I witness frequently: people who survived childhood trauma can achieve extraordinary feats—performing almost...

Can we start practicing a simple rule: if you feel something, say it? Men, in particular, often struggle with this — acting as if our...

Why is it that even when you pitch in around the house she still seems unappreciative? That’s an important question and there are several possible...

Everyone seems to be using the word dysregulation these days—but what does it actually refer to? And what can you do when it happens to...

You’ve tried everything to keep them close, haven’t you? You send the first messages. You forgive without insisting on explanations. You tuck away your own...

there is a powerful link between childhood abuse and neglect—especially emotional neglect—and a recurring, painful pattern in adulthood of investing all your affection into an...

When parents are so wrapped up in themselves that they barely notice or truly know their children, it’s common for those children to grow up...