Are You on Your Mobile Phone? Click here for 2800+ mobile optimized, self help and self growth articles.

Speaking Your Truth to Your Partner

By Dr. Margaret Paul
December 31, 2006



You might believe you are withholding your truth to spare your partner pain, but is your real intent to protect yourself from the response you fear?



RelationshipsMark sought my help because he was thinking of leaving his wife, Linda. He had not been feeling in love with her for a long time, but they had two children and he really didn't want to break up the family.

"Mark," I asked, "Were you ever in love with Linda?"

"Yes, at the beginning of our relationship."

"Then what happened?"

"Linda seemed to get really insecure once I started my new business and had long work days. Even though I think I gave her a lot of attention on the weekends, she started getting angry pretty much every day. Then after our son was born, she seemed even more unhappy and irritable. She gets mean when she's angry and I just don't find that appealing. I don't feel close to her anymore."

"Have you said anything to her about this?" I asked.

"No," he replied. "She already seems so unhappy. I don't want to hurt her feelings."

"So how do you handle it?"

"I guess I just sort of shut down and pretend that everything is okay. But I'm spending more and more time at work because I don't like being at home and recently I met another woman that I'm attracted to. I realize I've got to do something about this."

"Do you really think that leaving her will cause less hurt than telling her your truth?"

"Well, if I just leave then I don't have to deal with her hurt."

 

It's Time to Be Honest...

"Mark, that's a lack of courage and integrity. And you have two children to think about. You once loved Linda and it's possible that you could again, but only if you are willing to be honest. You need to give Linda a chance to deal with this. She has no idea what's going on. She might decide to deal with her anger, or she might not, but at least give her a chance to make that decision. And relationship problems are never one-sided. Perhaps she has things to say to you too."

Mark decided to tell Linda the truth, even though he was really scared. He told her that her anger was pushing him away, and that he didn't like being home anymore because he felt so blamed and controlled by her. He told her that he was attracted to another woman who was treating him with kindness and caring, and that he wanted this from Linda. He told her he had been thinking of leaving and had sought my help and that I told him to tell the truth. He asked her if she would join him in counseling.

Linda was shocked. She had no idea all this was going on with Mark. She thought she was the only one feeling so unloved in the relationship. At first she reacted exactly as Mark feared, with anger, hurt, and blame. But he told her the truth about this too - that he had been afraid to be truthful with her because of this reaction, and that if she wanted the truth, she need to be open to it rather than closed and angry. Finally Linda heard him and they were able to talk honestly for the first time in years. Linda was actually relieved at hearing the truth, once she got over the initial shock and they were able to talk. She agreed to counseling.

 

Both of Them Were Scared to Speak Their Truth...

In counseling, Mark discovered that Linda also had been afraid to be honest with Mark, fearing that he would withdraw even more. She was just as afraid of his withdrawal as he was of her anger. They discovered that both of them had been protecting against their fears rather than being open to learning with each other. As they both devoted themselves to practicing Inner Bonding and opened to learning with themselves and each other, the love gradually came back into their relationship.

People often believe that they are withholding their truth to spare their partner pain, but their real intent is to protect themselves from the response they fear. Protecting against pain - with anger, withdrawal, and blame - will always bring about the very pain we fear, while opening to learning and speaking our truth can open the door to love.



Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND


Send this article to a friend    Print this article    Bookmarked 9 time(s)
Bookmark and Share    Share with Del.icio.us    submit 'Speaking Your Truth to Your Partner' to digg Share with Digg    Share with StumbleUpon
There are no videos, Click to add one to the gallery!
There is no audio, Click to add audio to the gallery!
There are no pictures, Click to add one to the gallery!

Comments


More Help

Looking for help with Speaking Your Truth to Your Partner?

Search for solutions on Speaking Your Truth to Your Partner within the InnerBonding.com website using Google's Site Search.




 
 



Daily Inspiration

Are you afraid to be seen? Are you afraid for someone to look deeply into your eyes and see your soul? Are you afraid that what they will see is nothingness? Your wounded self believes you are empty, nothing. Yet you are a great gift, a child of God, a child of Love. Your soul is love. When you discover this, you will know who you are, and you will no longer be afraid.

By






Explore More Inner Bonding

 

DAILY INSPIRATION

Are you afraid to be seen? Are you afraid for someone to look deeply into your eyes and see your soul? Are you afraid that what they will see is nothingness? Your wounded self believes you are empty, nothing. Yet you are a great gift, a child of God, a child of Love. Your soul is love. When you discover this, you will know who you are, and you will no longer be afraid.

By

INNER BONDING EVENTS

Inner Bonding Events

04/04/2024 08:00 AM
The 6 Step Process of Inner Bonding Workshop in Germany
Markus Dietrich & Jasmina Kavka

All Inner Bonding Events