In this episode, Doug and Dr. Talia take on “defensiveness” as the most common maladaptive self-protective coping strategy in relationships. As you all know, that doesn’t tend to go well. We feel attacked, defend ourselves, or maybe we roll our eyes, sigh heavily and tell our partner they misunderstood or they are too sensitive. We might not realize that we are creating a rupture by not validating their experience in that moment, but we are. Tune in to learn practical strategies to take that crucial momentary pause and learn to respond differently in those moments. Your partner will thank you!