Adrienne Levy, MFT

Many people struggle to express feelings of hurt or anger out of fear of conflict. But merely expressing how you feel doesn't require you to justify anything. https://www.psychologytoday.com//3-steps-communicate-bette

Anxiety disorders can develop out of stressful situations, but it is still possible for someone to gain control over their symptoms. There are several ways of doing this, including dialectical behavior therapy. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/artic/debilitating-anxiety

Fear of contamination is one way OCD might manifest, but it's not the only way. There are several areas compulsions may develop in, some of which are not widely known. https://psychcentral.com/ocd/ocd-and-messiness

The key to effective communication is to be clear with yourself what your motivation is for speaking. There is much less likely to be a misunderstanding if you understand yourself. https://www.psychologytoday.com//4-crucial-questions-help-

Our past interactions influence how we understand relationships with new people. And while this is useful, it can lead us down the wrong path when we're not aware of it. https://www.psychologytoday.com//how-know-when-its-not-you

A person may be coping with anxiety while still incurring a toll from it. Even if you don't have a full-blown disorder, you may benefit from stress reduction techniques. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/a/high-functioning-anxiety

What do you do when someone else is too stressed to maintain a productive conversation? You may be able to turn down the heat and come back later without bruised feelings. https://www.psychologytoday.com//5-more-helpful-things-say

Smoothing over conflicts with our partners is not, itself, going to increase our sense of happiness with them. Both are important and require attention. https://www.psychologytoday.com//the-secret-happily-ever-a

People develop different styles of attachment as a response to experiences early in life. It is possible to change these styles, but it takes practice and self-awareness. https://www.psychologytoday.com//health-happens-between-pe

Making small decisions can accumulate into a lot of anxiety. But we can remove some of these problems by establishing routines and learning to let go of the small stuff. https://www.psychologytoday.com//5-decision-making-tips-ca

Patching up a relationship doesn't require you to repeat your disputes. But it may require you to acknowledge each other's feelings. https://www.psychologytoday.com//strained-relationship-foc

Many of us have been taught to practice gratitude without considering what our actual needs are. But letting our real needs go unaddressed builds up resentment, and to address them, we have to recognize them. https://blog.imagorelationshipswork.com/tipping-point-conce

Do you struggle with depression and/or anxiety? Adrienne Levy, MFT can help you. Please visit adriennelevy.com for more information or to schedule an appointment.

A lot of people find it difficult to talk about sex, but it's necessary for creating intimacy. You'll get closer the more you understand each other. https://www.gottman.com/b/the-art-of-sensual-communication/

Do you constantly rehash the same arguments? If you do, there's clearly an underlying issue, but how do you uncover it? It may not be easy, but there are tactics you can learn on both a couples and an individual basis to figure out where communication is breaking down. https://www.psychologytoday.com//5-reasons-why-you-keep-ha

Adrienne Levy, MFT wishes you a very merry Christmas!

You need boundaries to protect yourself, but without communication, those boundaries can turn into stonewalling. You can prevent this by focusing on self-soothing and sharing the rules you've set for yourself. https://www.gottman.com//conversational-boundaries-withou/

Anger is an immediate reaction to the perception of a threat. If you're struggling with anger that is having a negative effect on your life, it helps to learn more about why you feel threatened and to give proper mourning to the hurts that caused that sense of threat. https://www.psychologytoday.com//it-s-happening-again-pote

Anxiety buffers us against being surprised by negative emotions, but a lot of the things it causes us to focus on are unhelpful. One of the ways we can manage anxiety is to think more logically about the worst-case scenarios it keeps pointing us to. https://www.psychologytoday.com//2020/3-ways-stop-worrying

Are your ways of managing anger actually helping you? If not, it may be because you're falling into one of these habits. https://blogs.psychcentral.com//anger-management-unhealth/

A truthful apology will take responsibility and prioritize the other person's feelings. There are a lot of ways people often get them wrong. https://www.psychologytoday.com//2020/how-not-say-im-sorry

There are all sorts of reasons why you might be wary of your own goals. Figuring out what those are will allow you to assess them with less fear. http://bit.ly/2S8i506

Stress reduction requires you to both determine the cause of stress and find a way to help your body process stress hormones. If you can process your hormones, you may find you have more control over your circumstances than you thought. http://bit.ly/2OdKvo1

Differences between partners can be a cause of anxiety. But when we examine those feelings, we often find that differences are actually opportunities. https://www.psychologytoday.com//202005/avoiding-explosions

There doesn't have to be one big event in your life or traumatic experience for depression to develop. There are multiple causes of depression, including genetics. http://bit.ly/2MLDUAM

Becoming aware of the source of our anxiety is necessary for overcoming it, but we can also get trapped in the process of self-examination. This article discusses how to bring that process to a conclusion. http://bit.ly/31ewb3Z

It's easy to get lost in negative thoughts, but it's seldom productive. This guide will help you get problems solved and cultivate a more positive outlook. https://www.psychologytoday.com//4-steps-tackling-mental-h

Exercise can help regulate mood and stimulate creativity. Do you often make time to go on a walk? http://bit.ly/2vsIopQ

Letting a problem simmer might avoid arguments, but it doesn't get anything solved. To reach a resolution, everybody has to voice their needs. https://www.psychologytoday.com//sometimes-not-rocking-the

An apology is a way for you to strengthen a relationship. But people often avoid them because they have mistaken notions of what exactly an apology communicates. https://www.psychologytoday.com//the-top-15-myths-about-ap

What exactly is resilience? It's not repression, but rather, the ability to adapt. https://www.psychologytoday.com//the-8-key-elements-resili