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Authentic Connections, Boundaries, and Relationships

Holding a Grudge vs Setting Boundaries boundaries effective communication emotional health perspective Apr 07, 2024

Recently, the teenage daughter of a client of mine accused her mother of holding a grudge against her grandmother (my client’s mother). My client had a difficult relationship with her mother and had, over the course of her therapy with me, set up various rules she enforced frequently...

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Are You In a Blame Game? effective communication emotional health healthy relationships Feb 29, 2024

I’ve been thinking a lot about blame recently. 

I have a client who fights with his wife A LOT. And, neither one of them seems to be able to stop the fights.

I’ve pointed out to him that he blames her for nearly everything he’s feeling.

If she doesn’t like something...

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How do I set boundaries around my partner's boundaries? people-pleasers perspective relationship advice self-improvement Nov 10, 2023

Dear Dr. Julie: My husband of 43 yrs has worked most of our marriage away from home: here for 2 weeks and gone for 2-3 months. I pretty much raised our 3 children alone. He retired in 2018 and has gone from being away from home most of the time to being home almost ALL the time. Has...

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How to Tell if You Are Being Selfish effective communication people pleasing people-pleasers self-improvement Nov 03, 2023

What scares you? Does being thought of as selfish scare you?

Let's talk about selfishness--what it is and how to tell if you are being selfish. It’s a concern I frequently hear from my clients.

The difficulty with figuring out this question is that it is not an either or proposition....

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Why Am I So Bothered by Other People's Emotions? ama ask me anything effective communication people pleasing perspective Sep 05, 2023

Dear Dr. Julie: My husband is throwing his anxiety on me. How do I change this? Thank you!!

--Anxious Annie

Dear Anxious Annie: This is one of my most frequent questions. People really struggle around how not to be so affected by other people's emotions.

When our partners, friends, or...

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Why Do People Become People Pleasers? healthy relationships life lessons people pleasing self-improvement Aug 31, 2023

Many of us have been taught from a young age that being kind and considerate towards others is a virtue. While this is undoubtedly true, some people take this to an extreme and become people pleasers.

A people pleaser is someone who prioritizes the needs and desires of others above their own,...

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