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I waited for your call last night but it never came. (Couldn't you at least show some concern for how much I care about you?) |
unilateral style of communication, exaggerated speech, evidence of suspended living |
| Recognition of hurt feelings, quick non-defensive acceptance of responsibility of his part, neutral emotional reaction to her complaint. |
Sorry Petra, I got carried away at work and forgot to call. That was rude of me. (Darn, I should have called her, I wasn't paying very good attention to my time last night.) |
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It would be nice if you'd let me know so I don't stay home all night waiting for you to call (I get so emotional when I'm waiting for someone to call and they don't.) |
Clinging dependency, blaming of her choice to stay home on him. |
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Effort to repair interaction with humor and light-hearted genuine regard for her feelings. Positive, optimistic view of self & other & future. |
Yes, I totally agree. I'm in the doghouse on this one, would you consider letting me out if I took Friday afternoon off work so we could do something special together? (It would be great to relax and enjoy her company.) |
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Maybe, I'm going to have to think about it. It seems as though I'm always second priority to you. But it sounds nice. (He needs to have to try a little harder to get me. This shouldn't be THAT easy.) |
Inability to metabolize repair effort, difficulty in closing down negative affect, negative view of self, punishing withdrawal. |
| Sustained emotional neutrality, emphasis on treasuring and balancing of relationship. |
Oh, I'd really like to plan something special, let me know what you decide. (I think it hurt her feelings more than I expected. She can take some time to pull it together. I'm sure we'll be fine.) |
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Zack, if the offer's still good, I'd love to take you up on the Friday afternoon proposal! (He's been good about this, and I'd better say yes before someone else grabs him from me.) |
Starts to digest his repair attempt, but fails to keep it together, fear based rather than value based. |
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Great, I'll be over to pick you up at 4:30 on Friday. (This will be fun, I can find something she'll really enjoy.) |
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FOUR-THIRTY!! I thought you were going to take off early. (He's putting me in second place again.) |
Exaggerated and involved anger, reflexive and organized view of low self. |
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Yes, I've had a hard week. I want to get a little nap in so I'm really refreshed when I pick you up. (She's a bit of high maintenance sometimes, but I love her sense of spontaneity.) |
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All right I'll see you Friday, are you going to call me later? |
I'll call you on my way home to wish you goodnight, ok? |
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