My sense, influenced by principles in DBT, is that it’s inevitable that you’ll face dissatisfaction in relationships. Given this fact, the ability to repair relationships is more important than preventing a rift in the first place. Instead of ruminating on how best to bring up an issue that bothers you or worrying that saying something about a touchy topic will ruin a relationship, try the following DBT strategy, a great acronym known as DEAR MAN, that sets the stage to strategically ask for what you need instead of obsessing and feeling paralyzed. Here’s how it works: Describe the facts
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