Irina Zhuravleva

Today my aim is to transform how you handle conflict in your close relationships. We’re not talking about “punching” fights away — rather, we’re going...

All right — the aim here is to help resolve the conflicts that are eroding your relationship. It may sound ambitious, but this is worth...

Growing up with trauma affects each person differently, yet the patterns of symptoms that can surface later in life are strikingly similar for many of...

All right — here’s a very simple way to approach relationship advice: ask yourself one question. Do you feel stuck? Does it seem like no...

Among the warning signs I’ve learned to spot, one in particular always makes my alarm bells ring: when an adult claims they never want to...

If the word “space” keeps popping up in your relationships, this material is aimed at you. What people commonly lump together as avoidant attachment is...

My fear of being left in the future led me to abandon my own needs in the here and now. I constantly put everyone else...

There’s a pattern that comes from trauma where people move through life without ever truly committing to anything long-term — relationships, careers, communities, even the...

A lot of people misunderstand avoidance: they assume pulling away is a sign of strength, that detachment equals confidence. In reality, avoidant withdrawal is not...

Even rats become obsessed when rewards and care are repeatedly mixed with cruelty and isolation, so it’s not surprising that people raised with trauma often...

One night I was called into the hospital and found a man suffering a massive heart attack. We fought to save him for a long...

A few days ago a post explored how shutting down or stonewalling during an argument can leave a partner feeling unheard, isolated, and even abandoned,...

I keep thinking there ought to be a simple checklist to tell you if the person you’re dating is a narcissist — that would be...

If you find yourself wondering, “Is this relationship worth salvaging?” it usually means you’re stuck in one of three painful scenarios. First, you may be...

They vanished without a word three months ago — no farewell, no explanation, just silence. Then, in the small hours last night, at 2:08 a.m.,...

“Marriages die in the conversations that never happen” — that line, attributed to Dr. John Gutman who has examined thousands of couples, sums up a...

The universe keeps a harsh equilibrium. Every deed invites a counterforce. Every ounce of emotional investment you give to someone can come with a cost....

Have you ever noticed that sudden, hard-to-name change? One minute the atmosphere between you feels warm and alive — real connection, tangible possibility. You feel...

Our romantic partners are not our dependents, so it becomes problematic when we end up managing everything for them while they fail to contribute their...

When an avoidant ex comes to the slow recognition that the most valuable thing they ever had was you, it doesn’t land like a thunderclap....

Why do avoidant partners act with contempt toward you? That question doesn’t just float through your mind — it lands hard in your chest because...

Growing up in an environment marked by emotional neglect or cruelty trains your nervous system to respond by withdrawing. You stop crying. You stop protesting....

Have you ever watched an avoidant partner disappear the moment things start to deepen, only to reappear weeks or months later as if nothing happened?...

Have you ever stared at someone you adore and felt like your words were dissolving into emptiness? You reach for any sign of intimacy, any...