Relationship triggers can make an innocent comment land like an attack. Dr Laurie Betito offers a way to distinguish an old emotional wound from a partner knowingly causing hurt, without treating every painful exchange as the same problem.
An unanswered text can carry more weight than the words that never arrived. So can constructive criticism or an unreturned ‘I love you.’ What belongs to this relationship, and what arrived with it? The difference matters before either person gets assigned the blame.
A pause sounds simple until the reaction is already underway. How can a difficult conversation stop long enough to make sense of the emotion without becoming a conversation that never happens? Laurie offers language for that moment, along with something to notice in a partner’s response.
Topics: relationship triggers, emotional wounds, partner communication, intentional hurt, pausing an argument
GUEST: Dr Laurie Betito | drlaurie.com
Originally aired on2026-11-13
