LibraryScenariosWhen couples have different approaches to working with difficult emotions
Scenario

When couples have different approaches to working with difficult emotions

My wife and I have been practicing mindfulness of mental formations for months but we keep disagreeing about which emotions deserve investigation versus which ones to just let pass. When she's triggered she wants to analyze the mental factors, when I'm triggered I want to just observe impermanence, and we're creating more suffering for each other instead of less.

Patan
Online
The coach is replying

More people experience this than they realize.

What we've seen

Your different strategies for engaging with mental formations are creating disconnection precisely when you most need to be present with each other.

Ideas that help explain it
Worth thinking about

“Where Are You with Buddhist psychology in depth — Abhidharma?”

If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.