Do you find yourself ‘overreacting’ in arguments? Or feeling out of control with your emotional response? It’s never just about getting the wrong brand orange juice. Flooding is a phenomenon that can happen during arguments, it’s when your flight or fight response is triggered and the blood rushes from the prefrontal cortex to your extremities… preparing you to fight or run. However, when the blood leaves the prefrontal cortex, the decision making center of your brain, you are no longer able to have rational arguments...you’re flooded with your emotional responses. So what does this mean for therapy?

Well, together we explore the situations that are triggering that response in you and look at the historical development of the response: are you feeling unheard? Unimportant? Did this happen in childhood or previous relationships? Or even repetitively in this relationship? Everyone has unhealed relational wounds that are vulnerable and they can trigger a quick response when brushed. Our work is around understanding why we have the wounds and sensitivities that we do and what we can do to intentionally heal them. Within the relationship, we want our partners to understand and be aware of our unhealed wounds so that they can tread softly around them; that being said ultimately our triggers are our own and it is our responsibility to learn how to manage them and heal them.