When we decide to commit to a long-term relationship, we hope that finally, we won’t be alone, there will be somebody around with whom we will share our life, somebody, who will be there for us, love us and support us. We hope for nurturing, satisfying and enriching relationship. But most of us believe that this is only possible if we are very much alike our partner, if we think the same, feel the same, want similar things in our lives and almost always agree on everything. W

A tool that all couples should learn to master is the "Time Out". Time outs aren't just for naughty school children but are an effective communication regulation tool that can save your relationship from painful, traumatizing, escalated conflict. In truth, if you are getting angry, highly keyed up, agitated etc. you need to understand that the conversation is not going anywhere good and if you continue down this path, you are likely to say something you don't mean or fall out