Last week on the Being Well Podcast, Dr. Rick and Forrest discussed why healthy conflict is a vital part of strong and intimate relationships. Today, they focus on the key to successful relationships: repair. In this episode, they offer the practical how-to of effective repair: what it looks like, why it’s so hard, and how to do it well.
They start by describing what healthy conflict looks like, the mutual respect that holds it together, and why “me and you vs. the problem” is the way to go. Forrest then asks Rick about four common conflicts: the accidental argument, the chronic broken commitment, the missed bid, and the slow, hard-to-name sense that a relationship is changing. Rick offers guidance on how to interrupt each cycle, turn down the heat, and get back on the same team.
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Key Topics
- 0:00: Intro and what healthy repair looks like
- 5:26: Red flag: the withdrawal of caring and compassionate curiosity
- 9:26: Initiating repair
- 12:24: Scenario 1: The “accidental argument”
- 21:10: Scenario 2: The chronic broken commitment
- 40:01: Scenario 3: The missed bid
- 1:01:38: Scenario 4: The “seeming” change in relationship
- 1:07:11: Taking in repair, the key to successful relationships
- 1:16:23: Recap