Irina Zhuravleva

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...

Nothing scrambles your mind or wounds you more than trying to maintain any kind of relationship with someone who behaves narcissistically — the gaslighting, the...

Believe me from hard-won experience: destroying a marriage is almost always much easier than rebuilding one. It takes far less effort to let a relationship...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

Nobody can truly love you well if you haven’t become aware of the repeating patterns you keep slipping into. Consider this: have you ever been...

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.,...

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...

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

No, no — truly, it would be an honor; please, I insist. That’s incredibly kind of you, but I must press you again: no, I...

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....

Many men leave comments accusing me of hating men or trying to put men below women, and nothing could be further from the truth. I...

One thing that both intrigues and alarms me is how those who seek to control and manipulate others seem to instinctively recognize that people with...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

I think we waste too much energy trying to label our partner as a narcissist instead of simply acknowledging that certain behaviors are unacceptable. Ultimately,...