Improving The Quality of Your Relationship & How To Decrease Negativity

You and your partner have been together for awhile now. You know each other inside and out. You can point out both the good and bad in one another, but lately, it seems easier to talk about the negatives. You find yourself dwelling on the qualities and actions of your significant other that bother you and find it increasingly difficult to view them through the rose-colored glasses in which you once saw them. Your partner’s negative actions seem amplified, and even qualities that you viewed as positive in the past now seem to have a negative quality about them.
Does this sound familiar? 

Getting into this type of negative thinking pattern is similar to being on a “spin cycle” in a washing machine; negativity further perpetuates future negative thoughts and feeling. What blooms from the seed of a negative perspective is an overall feeling of negative regard for your partner. When you and your significant other clash, it’s only natural that the less than desirable facets of their personality become exacerbated. At GroundWork Counseling in Orlando, we work with couples to help address negative relationship patterns, and guide you toward steps to improve the quality of your relationship.

So what steps can you take to reverse this cycle in which you find yourself? Making a deliberate effort to lead your thoughts, rather than allowing them to lead you – the first step is to recognize that a pattern of unhealthy or negative thoughts are occurring, identifying these thought errors is a crucial step for further growth. From there, you can take meaningful action to create a habit of viewing your partner in a more positive and healthy light. An excellent way to begin increasing thought awareness is by beginning the practice of reframing unhelpful thoughts and labeling your thinking errors, when working with a Orlando Couples Therapist at GroundWork, your counselor will help guide you to address these unhelpful ways of thinking, and increase your ability to challenge unhelpful thoughts. For example, rather than agreeing with an initial generalization such as “He’s always lazy” or “She is always controlling.” Often at GroundWork, we see couples engaging in these types of “all-or-nothing” and overgeneralized thinking/speech patterns that increases overall feelings of dissatisfaction and negative perceptions of their relationships. This way of thinking and interacting can easily become a habit, which can be detrimental to a relationship. A couples therapist will help you challenge these unhelpful thoughts, and help foster a more positive outlook, while also facilitating a healthy dialog between you and your partner.

At GroundWork Counseling in Orlando we take an evidence-based approach to couples therapy; utilizing The Gottman Method to help couples increase satisfaction and healthy communication in their relationship. Drs. John and Julie Gottman, of the Gottman Institute, provide information from years researching relationships that show couples who have a 5:1 ratio, 5 positive interaction to 1 negative, report having the greatest satisfaction in their relationships. By engaging in a practice of positivity, compassion, and understanding, in both thought and behavior directed towards your partner, the emotional wellness of your relationship will have the room to grow exponentially.

At GroundWork Counseling in Orlando, our goal is to guide you and your partner toward making lasting changes in your relationship, while helping you to achieve healthier ways of interacting.  

Speak With An Orlando Couples Therapist
407-378-3000