Cinema Therapy: How Can Watching Movies Improve Your Relationship?

In my prior article, Cinema Therapy: How Can Watching Movies Improve Your Mental Health?, I began a discussion about how cinema therapy (also known as movie therapy) is used in psychotherapy to improve mental health.

Watching Movies Can Improve Your Relationship

In the current article, I'm focusing specifically on cinema therapy for relationships and couples therapy.

How Can Cinema Therapy Be Used in Couples Therapy?

One way cinema therapy can be used in couples therapy is to help the couple deepen their emotional connection.

Watching Movies Can Improve Your Relationship

Cinema therapy is one potential tool in couples therapy. 

Cinema therapy uses movies, TV programs or videos to help couples to explore their relationship dynamics in a safe, structured way. While watching a movie, couples can project their feelings onto the characters which can make it easier to discuss difficult truths:

• Metaphor As a Bridge: Couples identify with characters' struggles.

• Emotional Distance: It can feel safer to look at a movie character's strengthens and challenges than it does to look at yourself or your partner.

• Shared Vocabulary: Scenes provide a reference point for discussion for the individuals in the relationship and in their couples therapy.

• Empathy Building: Partners see perspectives visually illustrated on screen. 

How to Watch Movies As a Couple to Improve Your Relationship

• Choice of Films: The couples therapist chooses films with complex characters which are relevant to your issues.  The therapist might also choose films that will help to generate discussions between you and deepen your connection.

Couples Therapy Can Include Cinema Therapy

• Watch Actively: Notice your reaction to the characters, their dilemmas and their choices. Notice what triggers discomfort in you and what resonates with you.

• Discuss Openly: After you and your partner watch the film, have an open discussion with them about the characters including:

• What character did you empathize with the most and why?

• Which character flaws, if any, reminded you of your own?

• Which character strengths reminded you of your own and your partner's?

• How do the characters in the movie deal with conflict compared to how you and your partner deal with conflict?

• Do you see any of your communication blind spots in this movie? Which ones? 

• What did the characters need from each other? Did they get what they needed? How does this compare to how you and your partner meet each other's needs?

• Which unexpressed fear or desire did the movie bring out in you?

• If you could change one choice a character made, what would it be? How would you change it?

• What thoughts and feelings did the movie bring up about how you and your partner can support each other better?

• Did the character's actions or choices change how you view your relationship or a certain life situation?

• What is one lesson from the movie that you can apply to your relationship and life?

An Example of a Movie For Cinema Therapy For Couples (No Spoilers):

The movie, 45 Years, is a powerful tool for cinema therapy for couples because it helps couples to confront the illusion that keeping secrets protects a relationship.

The movie illustrates how unexpressed insecurities and buried secrets from the past can quietly fester over time. It also illustrates how sudden realizations can create emotional distance between the couple.

The movie also shows the necessity of maintaining emotional connection rather than just settling for a comfortable routine.

Get Help in Couples Therapy

Cinema therapy is one possible component in couples therapy.

If you and your partner have been struggling, seek help from a licensed mental health therapist who is a couples therapist so you can have a more fulfilling relationship.

About Me

I am a licensed New York psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT (for couples), Parts Work (IFS and Ego States Therapy), Somatic Experiencing and Certified Sex Therapist.

I have helped many individual adults and couples over the years.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.

Also See My Articles:

Tips on How to Get the Most Out of Couples Therapy 

Empathy Can Change a Negative Pattern in a Relationship 

Why Does Emotionally Focused Therapy For Couples Focus on Emotions?

 

Cinema Therapy: How Can Watching Movies Improve Your Mental Health?

Watching movies with complex characters can be beneficial to your mental health. The practice known as cinema therapy (also known as movie therapy) is a growing therapeutic technique which uses the narrative arc and depth of films to foster psychological growth.

Cinematherapy Can Improve Your Mental Health

When you engage in multi-layered, three-dimensional characters, rather than flat, predictable archetypes, it stimulates specific cognitive and emotional processes that can directly support well being.

Watching complex characters can benefit your mental health through several key mechanisms:

Safe Emotional Distance and Projection

Discussing or processing your own personal pain can sometimes make you feel vulnerable  under certain circumstances. In cinema therapy complex characters in a movie provide an emotional buffer that includes:

• Safe Exploration: You can project your own fears, unvoiced struggles or internal conflicts onto a character.

Cinematherapy Can Improve Your Mental Health

• Objective Detachment: This allows you to process intense themes, including grief, trauma or confusion, with enough distance to evaluate them objectively without flooding your nervous system.

Catharsis and Emotional Regulation
Bottled up feelings can lead to anxiety and pent up stress.  Complex stories act as an emotional pressure valve:

• Controlled Release: Watching a character face existential dilemmas or deep emotional pain provides a structured container that invites you to laugh, cry or feel anger in a safe way.

• Neurochemical Reset: This cathartic release can trigger a drop in cortisol and an increase in dopamine which can lower physical and emotional tension.

Cognitive Flexibility and Shattering Binary Thinking

Flat characters teach us to view the world in black-and-white terms (good vs evil). Complex, morally ambiguous characters force your brain to stretch:

• Brain Activation: Neuroimaging studies show that watching complex characters activates the parts of the brain that handle perspective-taking and the management of cognitive conflict.

• Nuanced Realism: Seeing a character who is deeply flawed yet capable of profound kindness helps you to reject harsh, binary judgments about yourself and others, which builds tolerance for life's natural ambiguities.

Building Inner Resources and Resilience
When characters navigate complicated psychological terrain, they model coping mechanisms and self discovery:

• Inner Resources: Watching a character struggle to find their authentic self amidst social pressure or personal crisis can awaken forgotten internal resources and coping skills as well as help to build resilience.

Cinematherapy Can Improve Your Mental Health

• Active Reflection: It inspires post-viewing reflection, which is the mental integration that happens after watching the movie. It can help you to apply the character's breakthroughs and gained wisdom to your own life.

Universal Experiences and Reduced Isolation

A core part of many mental health problems is that you feel alone with your experience and that no one else has ever experienced what is happening to you, so watching movies with complex characters helps you to realize you're not alone:

• Validating the "Hidden Self": Complex cinematic portrayals capture the messy realities of the human condition. An example of this is putting on a happy public persona while struggling on the inside (see my article: Looking Happy on the Outside But Feeling Broken on the Inside).

Cinematherapy Can Improve Your Mental Health

• The Power of Shared Humanity: Seeing those hidden, complicated parts of yourself reflected on the screen helps you to realize that many problems are universal. This can help you to realize that your struggles are a normal part of being a human being.

How Does a Psychotherapist Use Cinema Therapy in Therapy Sessions?

A psychotherapist uses cinema therapy (or movie therapy) as an emotional bridge to help clients to discuss personal issues. 

The therapist uses a structured framework where clients watch the movie, discuss the movie and process their own real-life experiences which are similar to what the characters dealt with in the film.

How Therapists Use Cinematherapy With Clients

Talking about fictional characters can feel less threatening than if clients talk directly about their problems. 

The therapist will often ask questions like, "Why do you think the main character made that choice?" or "What would you have done in this character's place if you had the same dilemma?"

The therapist can also explore with clients what it was like to watch the movie and to realize they aren't the only ones who have these types of problems. 

They also ask questions like "Would you have handled this problem in the same way or in a different way?"

After clients have processed their thoughts and feelings about the movie with the therapist, the therapist can also ask what it was like to discuss the movie with her. This is called metaprocessing.

This can help clients to open up to discuss their own problems and reflect on their therapeutic relationship with the therapist.

What Kind of Movies Can Help to Improve Your Mental Health

There are so many movies that can be beneficial.

Here is one example that can be beneficial for individuals and couples to watch:

The Before Trilogy: The Before Trilogy is a highly acclaimed series of three romantic dramas by Richard Linklater and starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. The three films in the trilogy are:

• Before Sunrise (1995)
• Before Sunset (2004)
• Before Midnight (2013)

The trilogy follows the evolving relationship between an American man named Jesse and a French woman named Celine. This series, which was filmed in real time over several years, is famous for its naturalistic conversation-driven format.

What Can You Learn From Watching the Before Trilogy? (No spoilers)

The Before Trilogy teaches that long term relationships require active continuous choices rather than relying only on romantic fate:

• Love changes over time
• Communication predicts survival of the relationship
• Love requires constant effort
• Time can alter your perspective

When I assign this trilogy to watch over a period of a few weeks, I use the films to help the client reflect on their personal struggles and how the characters in the movie dealt with similar struggles.

If I assign it to a couple, I ask them to watch the movies and discuss it afterward in terms of the characters and the dilemmas the characters faced in an effort to stimulate deeper communication between them and a deeper understanding of their relationship.

Conclusion

Cinema therapy is an expressive therapeutic modality where a mental health professional assigns a certain movies to help clients process emotions, gain new perspectives and heal. Therapists can also use TV programs or other types of videos.

Cinema therapy works by using carefully selected movies as a "third person" tool to mirror real-life struggles, encourage empathy and prompt breakthroughs.

It can be beneficial for individual adult clients or couples.

About Me

I am a licensed New York psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT (for couples), IFS and Ego States Parts Work, Somatic Experiencing and Certified Sex Therapist

I have helped many individual adults and couples over the years.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.

Being Able to Identify Your Emotions Helps You to Build Emotional Intelligence

I've written about emotional intelligence (EQ) in prior articles (see my article: How to Develop Emotional Intelligence).

In the current article, I'm focusing on how identifying emotions helps to build emotional intelligence.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Many people have difficulty identifying their emotions because they were never taught how to do it as children. As a result, as adults, they have difficulty developing emotional intelligence.

Identifying Emotions Helps to Build Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence includes the ability to:

• Recognize, understand and manage your emotions

• Recognize and understand the emotions of others

• Manage stress

• Navigate social situations

• Develop stronger relationships

• Build career success

Why Is It Important to Be Able to Identify Your Emotions?

Being able to identify your emotions helps you to understand your inner world which allows you to manage your reactions and navigate the world more skillfully.  

How Does Emotional Identification Build Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional identification helps you to develop:

• Self Awareness: This is the cornerstone of emotional identification and EQ. Being able to name your emotions (e.g., "I feel sad" or "I feel angry") is the first step. Self awareness allows you to move beyond just saying "I feel overwhelmed" or "I feel bad" to identify more specifically what you feel.

• Self Regulation: When you're able to name your emotions, you can gain the ability to regulate them.  This means you can pause and take a breath before you react.  This helps you to prevent disruptive impulses so that you can adapt your behavior in stressful situations and develop resilience (see my article: Responding Instead of Reacting).

• Improved Relationships: Being able to identify your emotions helps you to understand how you impact others. It helps to build empathy which can improve communication and build stronger bonds.

• Improved Decision-Making: Awareness of your emotional state helps you to make better decisions by making you aware of when your judgment might be clouded by your emotions. This can help you to make more rational decisions.

• Foresight and Preparation: You can learn to recognize and anticipate emotional triggers. This allows you to work on strategies to manage your emotions and to get help in therapy to work on the origin of those triggers.

Getting Help in Therapy

Even though you might not have developed the ability to identify emotions as a child, you can learn to develop emotional intelligence in therapy.

Getting Help in Therapy

A skilled psychotherapist can help you to learn the necessary tools and skills to develop emotional intelligence which will allow you to be more self aware and improve your relationships.

Developing a better understanding of yourself and your relationships can help you to lead a more fulfilling life.

About Me

I am a licensed New York psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT (for couples), Somatic Experiencing and Certified Sex Therapist.

I have over 25 years of experience helping individual adults and couples.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.

Also See My Articles:

How Psychotherapy Can Help You to Be More Self Reflective and Aware

Why Emotional Inteligence is Important in Your Relationship

 

Relationships: How to Respond in a Supportive Way to Your Partner's Emotional Vulnerability

Many people in relationships don't know how to respond to their partner's emotional vulnerability. This is significant because vulnerability is a pathway to emotional and sexual intimacy.

Responding to Your Partner's Emotional Vulnerability

Why Do People Have Problems Responding to Their Partner's Emotional Vulnerability?

People who have problems responding in a supportive way to their partner's vulnerability might have some or all of the following problems:

• Deep-seated Fears of Their Own Vulnerability: A partner's emotional vulnerability can trigger underlying fears, insecurities and painful memories. Instead of being supportive, these individuals might react to their partner's vulnerability with indifferences, scorn, criticism, disgust or indifference in order to protect themselves from their own feelings of vulnerability.

• An Insecure Attachment Style: A person's attachment style, which is formed in early childhood, can influence their ability to respond in a supportive way (see my article: How Your Attachment Style Affects Your Relationship):

• Avoidant Partners: These partners might pull away from a partner showing vulnerability. They might also feel overwhelmed when their partner expresses deep emotions because they equate intimacy with a loss of independence.

• Anxious Partners: These partners might focus on their own fear of abandonment which makes it difficult for them to respond empathetically to their partner's vulnerability.

• Negative Patterns of Behavior Learned From Past Experiences: Past experiences include early childhood. For instance, if someone was told by their parent that they were "acting like a baby" when they cry, when they become adults, they are more likely to react negatively to their partner's vulnerability. 

Responding to Your Partner's Emotional Vulnerability

• Fear of Intimacy: Even though a partner might crave closeness, their fear of intimacy can cause them to resist getting close to their partner. They might equate vulnerability with "weakness", risk of emotional pain or risk of future betrayal (see my article: The Connection Between Fear of Intimacy and Unresolved Trauma).

• Unresolved Trauma: Partners who have unresolved trauma, including childhood abuse or neglect, can find it difficult to let their guard down to be supportive of their partner.

• Low Self Esteem: A partner who has low self esteem might not feel worthy of their partner's affection. They might interpret their partner's vulnerability as criticism or a setup for an eventual rejection.

• Lack of Emotional Intelligence: A person who lacks emotional intelligence often lacks self awareness so that they might not recognize or understand their own feelings. If they don't recognize their own feelings, they probably won't understand or empathize with their partner's feelings (see my article: Why is Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Important in Your Relationship?).

What Are the Negative Dynamics in a Relationship When a Partner Can't Deal With Emotional Vulnerability?

When an individual has problems dealing with their partner's emotional vulnerability, this can set up a negative cycle where vulnerability is punished: 

• Past Punishment of Vulnerability: When a partner's past experiences of showing vulnerability were met with indifference, hostility or criticism, they might become hesitant to open up emotionally again. This often creates a negative cycle of emotional disconnection.

Responding to Your Partner's Emotional Vulnerability

• Ineffective Communication Patterns: Many couples lack the necessary communication skills and tools to communicate effectively.  For example, if one partner says to the other, "I'm afraid you don't love me anymore", the second partner might become defensive and angry and respond, "Well, it's your own fault. You're always too tired to go out and have fun."

• Defensive Reactions: When a partner shows vulnerability, instead of being supportive, the partner who fears vulnerability might react defensively:

• Stonewalling: Shutting down or withdrawing completely

• Contempt: Responding with sarcasm, mockery or insults

• Defensiveness: Making excuses or blaming their partner

• Attempts For Connection Are Missed: A vulnerable statement is an attempt to re-establish connection and intimacy. When a partner responds negatively to this attempt, it can create emotional distance between the partners.

What Are the Consequences of Negative Responses to a Partner's Vulnerability?

• Erosion of Trust: When a partner realizes that their expressions of emotional vulnerability are met with a negative response, they learn that it's not safe to be open with their partner.

Responding to Your Partner's Vulnerability

• Increased Conflict: When underlying issues remain unresolved, this can lead to more intense conflicts in the relationship.

• Decreased Intimacy: Negative responses to vulnerability often leads to a decrease in emotional and sexual intimacy which creates distance and loneliness.

• Heightened Emotional and Physical Stress: Chronic negative communication patterns raise stress levels which can impact on mental and physical health.

How Can You Break the Negative Cycle?

Breaking the negative cycle is an important strategy for improving a relationship (see my article: Breaking the Negative Cycle in Your Relationship).

The following strategies might be helpful to break a negative cycle in your relationship?

• Take a Break: If you or your partner feel overwhelmed, you can take a break to calm down and collect your thoughts. Before taking a break, have an agreement as to when you will get back together to talk again so that taking a break doesn't become an excuse for avoiding the conversation. Also, if you or your partner have an anxious attachment style, knowing when you will get back together to talk can help to soothe anxiety and fears of abandonment.

• Identify Your Triggers: Develop an awareness as to what your partner says that triggers your fears or defensiveness. Understanding your triggers is the first step. in learning to. manage your emotions (see my article: Becoming Aware of Your Triggers).

• Practice Empathy and Validation: Instead of being critical or getting defensive, try to understand your partner's feelings. You don't have to agree with your partner. You can respond by validating your partner's feelings and saying, "That sounds hard" or "I can hear how much that hurts you" (see my article: How to Develop and Use Validation Skills in Your Relationship).

Responding to Your Partner's Vulnerability

• Use "I" Statements: Instead of blaming your partner, frame your feelings in a nonjudgmental and non-defensive way. For instance, instead of saying "You make me worried when..." say "I feel worried when..."

Get Help in Couples Therapy

• Seek Professional Help: A skilled couples therapist can help you and your partner to identify the negative cycles you get into together and also help you to develop better communication and relationship skills.

About Me

I am a licensed New York psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT (for couples), Somatic Experiencing and Certified Sex Therapist.

I work with individual adults and couples.

I have helped many people to overcome obstacles to having a fulfilling relationship.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.

Relationships: Start With Curiosity and Not Confrontation

Starting with curiosity instead of confrontation means approaching a challenging situation by first seeking to understand the other person's feelings and behavior from their perspective and not just from your own.

Start With Curiosity and Not Confrontation

This involves asking open ended questions like: "Can you tell me more? I would like to understand."

Why Should You Start With Curiosity?

Curiosity allows you to remain open to your partner's perspective rather than assuming you understand when you might not.

In addition, curiosity:

• Builds Bridges, Not Walls: Whereas confrontation creates walls and divisions, curiosity builds bridges by promoting understanding and connection.

• Encourages Open Communication: A curious approach encourages honest sharing of thoughts, feelings and ideas without the fear of judgment, which leads to more transparent conversations.

Start With Curiosity and Not Confrontation

• Allows Your Partner to Be Open and Cooperative: When your partner feels you are genuinely curious and you're not being judgmental or critical, they are more likely to be open and cooperative.

• Unlocks Solutions: By exploring the root causes of the conflict, you can both discover innovative and more effective solutions that get to the core of the issue.

• Prompts Empathy: By considering that your partner is a decent person who arrived at their particular point of view, you're more likely to have empathy for them--even if your  perspective differs from theirs. Your empathy can help with finding a compromise to the problem.

How Can You Practice Using Curiosity?

• Ask Open Ended Questions: Instead of making assumptions, ask open ended questions that encourages your partner to share more.

• Be An Active Listener: Focus on listening to understand your partner's viewpoint instead of just waiting to respond so you can argue your point of view.

Start With Curiosity and Not Confrontation

• Check Your Own Biases: Be aware of your own conscious and unconscious biases and try to suspend your biases so you can avoid jumping to conclusions and making immediate judgments.

• Acknowledge Your Own Role in the Conflict: Be curious about your own perceptions and behavior to understand how you might be contributing to the conflict.

• Create Space For a Deeper Understanding: Slow down and create pauses in the conversation for a deeper understanding and greater insight.

Get Help in Couples Therapy

If you and your partner have tried to approach your conflicts with curiosity and not confrontation but you're not making progress, consider working with an experienced couples therapist.

A skilled couples therapist can help you to overcome the obstacles in your relationship.

Get Help in Couples Therapy

Rather than continuing to engage in the same behavior that isn't working, get help in couples therapy so you can have a more meaningful relationship.

About Me

I am a licensed New York psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT (for couples), Parts Work (IFS and Ego States Therapy), Somatic Experiencing and Certified Sex Therapist.

I work with individual adults and couples and I have helped many people to have more fulfilling relationships.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me,

11 Characteristics of Happy Couples

All relationships go through challenges from time to time, but happy couples tend to have certain characteristics in common:

• Effective Communication: Their communication with each other tends to be open and honest. They share their needs and their concerns even when it's challenging to do so. This includes active listening (see my article: Improving Communication in Your Relationship: Do You Want to Be Helped, Heart or Hugged?).

Characteristics of Happy Couple

• Trust and Honesty: Along with effective communication and active listening, happy couples build a foundation of trust and honesty.

• Mutual Respect: They value each other's feelings and perspective. They also respect each other's individuality.

• Empathy and Kindness: They strive to understand each other with empathy and kindness and they support each other's emotional needs (see my article: Do You and Your Partner Understand Each Other's Needs?).

Characteristics of Happy Couples

• Commitment: They are committed to each other and invest emotionally in their relationship (see my article: How to Navigate the Commitment Stage of a Relationship).

• Compromise and Flexibility: They work as a team to be flexible and find ways to compromise (see my article: Why is Emotional Intelligence Important in Your Relationship?).

• Healthy Conflict Resolution: They address conflicts in a respectful and constructively to find ways to resolve their problems as a team (see my article: How to Keep Small Arguments From Becoming Big Conflicts).

Characteristics of Happy Couples

• Prioritize the Relationship: Even though they have friends, they work and they maintain relationships with family members, they prioritize their relationship as being the most important relationship. 

• Maintain a Healthy Sex Life: They make time for sexual intimacy in ways where they can both enjoy sex (see my article: Overcoming Sexual Desire Discrepancy).

• Shared Goals and Values: They support each other's individual goals and dreams and work towards achieving relationship goals (see my articles: 10 Relationship Goals to Create a Stronger Relationship).

Characteristics of Happy Couples

• Make Time For Fun and Playfulness: They balance the rest of their life by making time to have fun and be playful with each other (see my article: Do You Remember What It Was Like to Have Fun in Your Relationship? Try a Little Playfulness).

Getting Help in Couples Therapy

As I mentioned earlier, all couples go through challenging times.

If you and your partner have been unable to resolve your problems on your own, you could benefit from getting help from a licensed mental health professional who works with couples.

Characteristics of Happy Couples

A skilled couples therapist can help you to overcome the obstacles in your relationship if you wish to stay together or help you to end the relationship amicably and with respect (see my article: How to Get the Most Out of Your Couples Therapy Sessions).

About Me

I am a licensed New York psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT (for couples), Somatic Experiencing and Sex Therapist.

I have over 20 years of experience working with individual adults and couples.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.

Relationships: Coping With Your Partner's Annoying Habits

It's not unusual for people in relationships to find their partner's habits annoying. 

This usually isn't discussed when people are considering moving in together or getting married.

Coping With Your Partner's Annoying Habits

Sometimes people get caught in the trap of trying to change their partner, which tends to backfire (see my article: The Problem With Trying to Change Your Partner).

When you and your partner live together, it's inevitable you will both experience moments of annoyance with each other. These moments might involve annoying habits you weren't aware of when you were dating (see my article: Relationships: The Ideal vs the Real).

Since you are two different people with your own unique personalities, values, habits and quirks, there are bound to be things that bother each of you. 

It's not a matter of whether you and your partner discover annoying habits about each other but rather how you will handle these situations.

Common Situations That People in Relationships Find Annoying

As a psychotherapist who works with individual adults and couples, I have heard many clients complain about their partner's habits including:

• Arriving late without an apology or reason
• Forgetting to do chores on a consistent basis
• Leaving clothes on the floor
• Ignoring personal hygiene
• Leaving dirty dishes in the sink

Coping With Your Partner's Annoying Habits

• Not acknowledging or appreciating a partner's efforts
• Chewing loudly
• Looking at their phone a lot when they are supposed to be spending quality time together
• Drinking directly from a carton and putting the carton back in the refrigerator
• Nitpicking
• Leaving the toilet seat up
• And many other examples

How to Cope With Your Partner's Annoying Habits and Be Open to Hearing About Your Own

What one person finds annoying might not be at all annoying to someone else. So, don't be surprised if your partner has a hard time accepting that their habits are annoying or that when your partner tells you what they find annoying that you're also in denial.

Steps to Addressing and Hearing About Annoying Habits:

• Communicate Tactfully and with Empathy: Rather than waiting until you have reached your limit, talk to your partner in a calm and tactful way.  Chances are your partner isn't trying to be annoying (just as you're not trying to annoy your partner with your habits) so give them the benefit of the doubt.  A little empathy can go a long way.

Coping With Your Partner's Annoying Habits

• Find a Convenient Time to Talk: Rather than having a conversation on the fly while your partner is racing out the door for work, find a convenient time for each of you where you can sit down calmly to discuss things.

• Put Yourself in Your Partner's Shoes and Be Flexible: You might feel that you have the best way for doing household chores, but your partner's way might be equally good. For instance, your way might be to wash the dishes as soon as you finish eating, but your partner might prefer to relax first. Neither way is right or wrong--just different.

Coping With Your Partner's Annoying Habits

• Be Patient and Find a Compromise: For example, your partner might not be as good as you are with planning their time so they tend to arrive late. While they are in the process of learning to manage their time better, instead of looking at your watch and getting increasingly angry, can you use the time to answer an email, call a friend or read a newspaper article on your phone? You can both agree this is a temporary compromise as your partner is developing better time management skills.

• Balance Positive and Negative Feedback: Often when people get fed up with their partner's habits, they unleash a barrage of criticism against their partner. They might also "kitchen sink" their partner by telling them about all their annoying habits at once, which can be overwhelming for your partner to hear. So, make sure you start with some positive feedback so you don't hurt your partner's feelings with only negative feedback  (see my article: Improving Communication in Your Relationship: How to Stop "Kitchen Sinking" Your Partner).

• Choose Your Battles: Think about what's most important to you. Maybe you live with your partner forgetting to put the toilet seat down, but you can't stand it when your partner leaves clothes on the floor. 

Are You Focusing on Annoying Habits When There Are More Serious Problems in the Relationship?

Sometimes couples argue about annoying habits when there are more serious underlying  problems in the relationship that they are either unaware of or they are reluctant to address.

The following clinical vignette, which is a composite of many cases, illustrates how a couple can avoid talking about serious problems in the relationship by focusing on annoying habits:

June and Roger

During the honeymoon phase of their relationship, June and Roger were in a long distance relationship. 

June lived in New York City and Roger lived in Dallas, so they only saw each other once or twice a month. During that time, they were so in love with each other that they couldn't wait to be together.

Coping With Your Partner's Annoying Habits

Six months into the relationship, Roger accepted a job in New York City and he moved in with June.  Initially, they were both so happy to be together, but over time, they began to argue over seemingly little things.

After they sought help in couples therapy, Jane complained that Roger was constantly texting on his phone--even when they had carved out special time to be together.  Roger said he tried to put away his phone, but he felt he had to respond promptly to texts.

They agreed to a compromise where Roger would put his phone away when they were out to dinner and only check it as they were leaving the restaurant or when they got home. But Roger had a hard time not looking at his phone during the dinner and June felt frustrated with him and disrespected.

Then, during one of their couples therapy sessions June mentioned reluctantly that she thought Roger was texting another woman. In response, Roger got quiet. 

When the couples therapist asked him for his reaction, Roger hesitated to speak, but then he admitted he was getting texts from his ex-girlfriend in Dallas, who wanted to get back together with him. 

He said she had been very dependent upon him when they were together and he felt he had to respond to her desperate texts (see my article: Is Your Partner Stuck in a Codependent Relationship With an Ex?)

All the while when they were arguing about his texting during dinner, June sensed there was more to this problem, but she was in denial at that point. As a result, they were both reluctant to address the problem and their conversations focused on his phone use instead of the fact that he was secretly communicating with an ex-girlfriend.

Over time, June and Roger worked on her sense of betrayal and Roger's inability to set limits with his former girlfriend. He was clear that he didn't want to get back with her, but he was ambivalent about giving up his role in her life.

After June gave him an ultimatum to either stop communicating with his ex or she would leave him, Roger set limits with his ex and he blocked her on his phone. 

He also got into his own individual therapy to work on how unresolved childhood trauma related to his role as a parentified child contributed to his current problems.

Conclusion

It's common for couples to discover each other's annoying habits. 

Communicating with empathy can help your partner to understand why you find their habit annoying. You also need to develop an openness and willingness to hear about your own annoying habits.

There are times when couples focus on annoying habits as a way to avoid dealing with bigger problems like in the clinical vignette above.  

It's important to deal with underlying problems that might be causing problems in your relationship rather than tiptoeing around these problems.

Getting Help in Couples Therapy

If you and your partner have been unable to work out your problems on your own, you could benefit from seeking help from a couples therapist.

Getting Help in Couples Therapy

Rather than struggling on your own, seek help from a licensed mental health professional who works with couples.

Once you have worked through your issues, you and your partner can have a more fulfilling relationship.

About Me

I am a licensed New York psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT (for couples), Somatic Experiencing and Sex Therapist.

I have over 20 years of experiencing working with individual adults and couples (see my article: What is a Trauma Therapist?).

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.