Quote:
But many nights, she insists on the most outrageous and hurtful things and gets mad when I tell her they're not true.
|
Rather than contradict her, an option might be to use
active listening. On this approach you don't tell her that you agree or disagree with what she says. Instead,
you show that you understand what she said, without judging it or her.
Let's say that she says
You have always hated me.
In the past you might say
No, that's not true, I love you.--and she would get angry.
With active listening you would say something like:
Right now you have such a strong feeling that I dislike you.
You don't agree or disagree, you show that you understand.
When you show that you understand (without judging), you are with her. She isn't alone anymore.