My girlfriend is always criticizing me…

My girlfriend is always criticizing me, but when I talk to her about it she tells me she’s doing nothing wrong. Is this normal? What is criticism? Criticism is a destructive type of communication that often takes the form of “you always” or “you never” statements. If you’re hearing statements from your girlfriend like, “you’re…

What is an emotional affair?

What is an emotional affair? Emotional affair new term that people are using to describe overly-close emotional relationships. The first time I remember seeing this term is in the book Not Just Friends by Shirley Glass. While an emotional affair does not include sex, it is often the first step on the slippery slope to…

Gaslight examples – how to know I’m being gaslighted and what to do about it

What is gaslighting? According to Dictionary.com, “Gaslighting is the act of distorting the truth in a way that’s intended to make another person accept the deception due to doubting their own memory, reality, or sanity. It’s considered a form of psychological manipulation or emotional abuse.” The term gaslighting comes from the 1938 play and 1940s…