Irina Zhuravleva

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...

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?...

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...

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,...

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...

A major reason people who grew up neglected as children have difficulty building steady, long-term partnerships is insecure attachment. Often they rush into closeness, get...

I really think if couples adopted a single simple rule, their arguments could improve almost immediately — hear me out: pick a cue word, something...

All right — today we’re covering how to have conversations with men about relationships. Ready? If there’s one lesson from the comments, it’s this: if...

So how do you tell your partner what you need and how you feel without them getting defensive, feeling attacked, or accusing you of not...

So I’m stuck — I can’t bring up things that hurt me when everything’s going well because I’ll ruin the good mood, and I can’t...

Almost everything you encounter about childhood trauma emphasizes how awful it is, how broken you are, and how terrible the people who hurt you were....

Okay, let’s simplify relationships: if you or your partner, whether deliberately or unintentionally, lack the desire to build trust, intimacy, emotional safety, or healthy communication,...

I will always remember the moment I discovered there was an actual name for what I’d been struggling with—the strange behaviors, the floods of feeling...

“I was thinking earlier—do you want more sexual intimacy between us?” “Sorry, what do you mean by sexual intimacy?” “Like, do you want us to...

They can block you on every platform. They can change numbers — but they can’t switch off the frequency. They still pick up on your...

You deserve steady, devoted love—you deserve love that is generous and willing to sacrifice. You deserve warmth, gentleness, and someone who treats you with the...

If you’re a woman who often feels peripheral—liked on the surface but not truly seen—you are far from alone. Maybe you’re warm, encouraging, reliable. You...

When someone says they want “closure,” I tend to be wary—often what they really mean is they’re still obsessively in love with someone and are...

Not every obsessive bond takes the form of a romantic affair — sometimes it’s a friendship that fills the void left by childhood neglect and...

Decades of study by Drs. John and Julie Gottman found that the most powerful indicator of a relationship’s future health was how partners responded to...

Men, I want to help you see something many of the women you’re with struggle to communicate: they often can’t ask for what they need...

If what you most deeply want is a steady, authentic love, honor that desire — it’s what you are meant to have. If you were...

There is a form of silence that at first does not feel peaceful—it carries weight. It’s like standing alone in an emptied room that once...