Relationships

Watch out for these signs and phrases to protect yourselves from mental abuse — What comes to your mind when you think of the word “gaslighting?” Probably an image of a character from a movie or TV show, like Patrick Bateman in American Psycho or Norma Bates in Psycho. While gaslighting is often portrayed in entertainment, it’s not always so easy to spot in…

Our eyeballs are made for looking. And that’s just what they do. — Your brain often creates imaginary monsters when you stare at the mirror for too long. Essentially, your brain gets bored and finds ways to scare you. If you stare at someone else for too long, you become that person’s monster. Here are four problems you create by staring. Things you can fix My girlfriend…

Sometimes you can just tell by looking. — By Dyanne Brown You wake up and send out your daily “good morning” text to the object of your affection. A few hours later, you get a short response. Perhaps, you trade texts back and forth, but then there is silence. You try to connect with the person off and…

What did you expect? — I watched ZERO seconds of the Johnny Depp & Amber Heard extravaganza. I wasn’t going to give it any of my time. I am of the O.J. Simpson generation of celebrity trial Americans. I know how these end usually — with absurd outcomes of celebrity worship ruling the day. …

Years of awkwardly bumbling through social situations and saying dumb stuff prompted me to take a keen interest in human behaviour. Here are some things I’ve picked up that apply to the world of attraction: 1. Demonstrating listening. When you watch them in conversations, if you happen to be eavesdropping, most people are…

#2: Practice gentle self-talk — As a psychologist, I spend a lot of time talking to people who struggle with low self-esteem. They say things like: I’m very successful, but it never feels like enough. I know this is bad to say, but I just never feel worthy. But whatever the original cause of your…

How to know when “the one”…isn’t. — One of the most difficult things anyone will ever have to admit is that they’ve chosen the wrong romantic partner. It means facing the realization that they need to start over at square one — but first, they need to muster the courage to end the relationship. Depending how far…

Almost the entire male cast are walking red flags — Men are lonelier than ever. Men in their 20s aren’t having sex. Men are not okay. More and more men identify as ‘incels’ — which stands for ‘involuntarily celibate.’ You’ve probably been hearing things along these lines in the last few months, maybe even longer. But if you look at…

And some clear signs to see if you’re being roached. — Online dating can be messy. You could put so much effort only to get disappointed over and over again. Do you know that one guy you’ve been waiting for but never comes back after the first date? Yes, he’s ghosting you, and no, it doesn’t mean you aren’t good enough…