Irina Zhuravleva

I can say with absolute confidence: saying “I love you” alone won’t preserve a relationship. Love by itself is insufficient — intimacy demands far more...

Make no mistake. This isn’t a tale about a broken heart — it’s a judgment on poor choices, a meticulous bill itemizing every cost of...

Healthy relationships always require the active participation of two people; there’s simply no shortcut. Intimacy, trust and emotional safety emerge when both partners contribute —...

Some people act difficult because they carry pain; others behave that way because inflicting pain gives them a sense of power. In both cases, if...

For a person burdened by psychological trauma, seeking support from the wrong people while trying to heal from childhood wounds can feel deeply unsettling and...

There comes a point when words begin to lose their power. You have spoken everything that could be said, named every feeling, justified every silence,...

Alright — as you probably know, Father’s Day is this Sunday, and I wanted to offer some thoughts on ways you might show your partner...

You glance at your phone again, replaying the last exchange and wondering what went wrong. You’ve tried being calmer, kinder, less demanding. You’ve minimized your...

Think about it — the same things we did to win her over are exactly the things we need to keep doing to maintain her...

Have you ever felt muzzled? You raise your voice about something important and instead of being listened to, you’re dismissed. Sometimes people laugh. Sometimes they...

Okay — a straightforward question: how do I talk to my partner without them feeling attacked or shutting down? How can I bring up something...

Okay, we’re live — hello everyone, and thanks for being here. It’s me, the Crappy Childhood Fairy, and Rob has been collecting your questions for...

Many of the people I work with are hurting because they accepted the idea that if they long for a loving, committed partnership, having a...

If a child grows up without enough emotional care, they can be especially likely to channel their romantic energy toward people who aren’t actually available....

There are two especially damaging ways that self-centered parents can shape how you relate to others: first, by not taking an interest in or supporting...

If you want to move from “getting by” to genuinely great intimacy, it helps to understand the four broad kinds people often talk about: physical...

The single thing that terrifies a toxic person more than almost anything else is when you draw firm boundaries — because boundaries remove their power....

All right — if you arranged a spa day for your partner or encouraged her to spend Mother’s Day out with her friends, nice work....

Men — please don’t let your relationship fall apart the way mine did. I’m sharing this as a warning: by the time you finally say...

Think of these two leaves as a picture of your relationship. I plucked them from the same flourishing plant—one received sunlight, water and good soil;...

Have you ever wondered why the person who walked away from you can’t actually let you go? Even when they’re with someone new, even while...

Listen — I don’t know which one of you needs to hear this, but it drains you when only one person seems to care about...

I’ll always remember the moment I learned there was an actual label for the confusing feelings, odd actions, and repeated mistakes that had shadowed me...

You cannot keep playing the avoidance game forever. Time evens everything out. The wall you assembled around your heart, brick by brick, telling yourself it...