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Category Archives: Emotions in Conflict

That Made My Blood Boil

Did you know that there was a belief that blood actually boils when people become angry or excited? We know that is not true and even has a sort of sci-fi feeling to it. However, that made my blood boil … Continue reading

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Digging in our Heels

The meaning of “digging in our heels” according to one source is stubbornly resisting something or refusing to change, i.e. an opinion. The same source states that the origin is “probably related to the fact that if a person or … Continue reading

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“Settle Down”

It often seems that phrases like, “settle down”, “just calm yourself”, “you don’t need to get upset”, etc. lead to increased defensiveness and other negative reactions, rather than less, as the speaker likely hoped. Hushing hand gestures result in the … Continue reading

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Post-Conflict Guilt

After a conflict, some of us experience a sense of guilt. We may realize we contributed to the discord by saying or doing something that we know offended the other person. We may have been insulting. We may have not … Continue reading

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Getting revved up

What often happens in the middle of an interpersonal conflict is that, for one reason or another, one or both people become increasingly agitated and words and emotions accelerate in intensity and negativity. This shows up in various other ways … Continue reading

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