Irina Zhuravleva

Okay, here’s the situation: everyone is fixated on spotting red flags — narcissism, avoidance, gaslighting — wondering whether their partner is secretly manipulating them. That...

This is not love — and I’ll state that up front without beating around the bush. The intense magnetic pull, the fixation on someone who...

You believe he’s untroubled. You picture him walking away without a backward glance: composed, detached, already moving on as if you never mattered. His feeds...

Have you ever bent over backward for a man — agreed to things you secretly opposed, dropped everything at the slightest call, or stayed silent...

Limerence strikes me as almost a metaphysical phenomenon; it winds itself through the wreckage of family breakdowns. It’s an obsessive, high-intensity fixation on people you...

People often teach that relationships should be rooted in selflessness, and there is truth in that—yet a crucial question remains: when does giving turn harmful?...

Understanding disorganized (fearful-avoidant) attachment Disorganized attachment develops when a child’s caregiver was both a source of comfort and a source of fear — for example,...

It’s predictable: whenever someone offers relationship advice, there’s always that comment — “That won’t help with narcissists; empathy, kindness, and love don’t work on them.”...

A frequent complaint from men is that women are being taught that every emotion they have must be validated. Their point is: feelings are not...

A pathological narcissist can make you feel exalted one moment and then discard you the next over the smallest perceived slight, and afterward they’ll turn...

Being ignored by someone, especially by someone who matters to you, cuts in a way that’s hard to describe. It’s not a physical blow or...

Being betrayed by infidelity and dishonesty is devastating. Has this happened to you? What makes it so bewildering is that betrayal can creep into relationships...

Here’s the single moment that tends to devastate someone with an avoidant attachment style — and why that same moment can feel like liberation for...

They walk away and then silence falls. You check their social feeds and see them seemingly fine — maybe even freer and happier. They drink...

Isn’t it maddening? Just when you finally start to feel lighter—smiling again, sleeping through the night, no longer obsessively checking their Instagram—your phone buzzes and...

Many people ask which exact method I used to soothe my nervous system and heal the lingering effects of childhood PTSD. If you’ve seen my...

So the other day both of my kids’ rooms were a mess. I told my daughter, “Please go clean your room now.” My son wasn’t...

So, can someone with narcissistic traits actually change, and is it possible to preserve a relationship when your partner is narcissistic? The short answer to...

Ugh — why are there always dishes piled in the sink? You’re so lazy. It’s not only my job to wash them. Are you serious?...

They aren’t testing you with words. They test you through silence, distance, and contradiction. If you’ve ever loved someone who once rushed toward you with...

Here’s a straightforward question for everyone: does your partner have the right to voice a complaint? One of the toughest things for any of us—men...

Here’s how to tell if you’re trapped in an unhealthy, toxic situation: when the only moment things feel okay between you is when you stay...

You are the person everyone depends on. Is that you? You are the glue that keeps things together, the one who somehow makes everything function,...

Too often the style and tone of our arguments decide whether a relationship endures or collapses. So let me ask you plainly: how do you...