Four ways to kill a relationship

Former Member

According to the relationship scientist, John Gottman, there are four styles of communication that he thinks predict the end of a relationship. These are:

• Criticism- Blaming a problem in the relationship on your partner
  
• Defensiveness- Never seeing your partner's point of view or accepting any responsibility when things go wrong.
  
• Contempt- Not respecting your partner and thinking you're better than them.
  
• Stonewalling- Not listening to what your other half is saying.

You can read more here.

The article talks more about married couples but it got me thinking about how people talk to each other in a relationship.

Do you think if someone communicates in one of these styles that it's a sign of the end of their relationship, or do you think it can be managed?

Have you ever been in a relationship where one or more of these styles dominates?

Emily