Irina Zhuravleva

Today we’re going to explore the difference between healthy needs and unhealthy needs in intimate relationships. Underneath most arguments lie unmet wants and fears that...

Would you be prepared to pose this question to your partner: when was the last time you felt lonely in this relationship? From what I...

Okay, this is a little bit of a rant, but whenever I try to offer relationship guidance — even when I start by saying that...

The single most potent way to create genuinely meaningful connections with others is to make them feel heard. People crave that — and doing it...

This is not merely a relationship with routine highs and lows. What you’re caught in is a deliberate psychological scheme. The avoidant person in your...

Have you noticed that in most relationships one person tends to be the more self-reliant partner? If you’re unsure which side that is in your...

It wasn’t physical violence. It was quiet. It manifested as hushed comments, the sudden hush when you enter a room, forced smiles, realizing you’ve been...

One of the surest ways to slowly destroy a relationship is chronic people-pleasing. Not everyone naturally becomes a people pleaser — it often grows out...

Have you ever paused to ask yourself whether you might be a narcissist, or at least exhibit narcissistic behaviors sometimes? If you grew up abused...

Okay, picture this: many of us either already have children or hope to have them someday. Now ask yourself—would it sit right with you if,...

Maybe people labeled you as needy when what actually happened was you were left alone too many times. Maybe you were told to quiet down...

Being raised amid abuse and neglect nearly always saps a person of their natural strength. You begin to doubt your worth, lose faith in your...

All right — how much blame should the betrayed partner carry for an affair that occurred within a marriage? That’s an important question. Ultimately, remember...

How does it feel when you try to be part of a group? For many of us who grew up this way, adulthood often brings...

Your body is far more honest about what’s happening in a relationship than your mind. While you busy yourself inventing explanations for their mood swings,...

You tell yourself you’re keeping safe. You believe that withdrawing is a sign of toughness. But imagine if the habit you adopted to survive has...

There’s a clear theme that keeps appearing in people who tell me they don’t really know themselves — they’re unsure of their tastes, their hopes,...

There’s a huge, almost universal thing that sparks childhood-PTSD symptoms — and chances are you’ve got it too. It’s so common that most people never...

Listen: if you find yourself tempted to cheat on your spouse, you owe it to everyone involved to speak up — even if it feels...

Have you ever stopped pursuing someone and noticed the energy in the room shift? One moment you’re sending messages, explaining yourself, doing everything to keep...

An avoidant attachment shows up in more than just behavior — it’s embedded in the way someone speaks, the cadence of their voice, and their...

One of the toughest realities to swallow when you’re in love with someone who consistently withdraws is this: the more you pursue them, the more...

One consequence of past trauma is that it can shape behaviors—often around sex and money—that society judges harshly. Those actions can create stigma that follows...

Your sense of who you are — and therefore what you can imagine for your future — is woven from the narratives you repeat to...