Areas › Your marriage › Staying regulated in conflict
Open a hard topic with I feel, about what, I need. Ask for what you want, do not expect mind-reading.
I feel upset that the dishes are left out. I would appreciate the kitchen cleaned at night. Clear and kind.
Qur’an and Sunnah
Be mindful of God, and speak in a direct fashion and to good purpose (Quran 33:70). A clear, well-aimed word is the gentle start-up.
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَقُولُواْ قَوۡلࣰ ا سَدِيدࣰ ا
Believers, be mindful of God, speak in a direct fashion and to good purpose
Qur’an 33:70read it in the library
Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford University Press, 2004.
What the research says
The way a hard conversation starts predicts how it ends; leading with your feeling and a specific, polite request, rather than blame, is what keeps it from escalating.
Gottman, J.; Coan, J.; Carrere, S.; Swanson, C. (1998). Predicting Marital Happiness and Stability from Newlywed Interactions. Journal of Marriage and the Family doi
Newlywed interaction patterns; accepting influence; soft start-up.
Strength of evidence: one line of research. A single study, or a theoretical account.
Why it works
A soft, specific start-up, feeling plus need, largely determines whether the conversation goes well.
Where this sits: Gottman method, Manage Conflict; Four Horsemen, antidote to Criticism (gentle start-up: I feel, about what, I need).
This one is still a draft. It is waiting on a scholar and a clinician to read it before it is published.