Dating and the Flying Monkeys
Don’t monkey around.
You might be in a relationship with someone that you love and care about, but when the two of you get into disagreements, you might find that the other person’s friends and family members get involved as well. This might bother you, and you might feel like the issues that you have with your partner should be between the two of you. So, what do you do if your partner’s friends and family get involved in your disputes? How do you approach this type of situation? Though the answers to these questions may be different for everyone, here are a few suggestions.
1. Talk to your partner about it.
Tell your partner what you have observed and talk to him or her about it. Try to let him or her know you don’t want anyone else involved in your personal issues and discuss a way to talk about these issues as a couple instead of talking to others that are outside of your relationship. See what he or she thinks about this, and listen to his or her reasoning as to why the issues were discussed with others. Try to be patient, and do your best to compromise with your other half.
2. Set your expectations.
Tell your partner what you expect when the two of you have issues, and ask him or her what his or her expectations are. Maybe, the two of you both want to sit down after you cool down to talk, or maybe, you both want to be heard. Talk about what the two of you need to do in order to work through the issues that you have as a team, and make a plan on how you are going to do this next time you have a disagreement.
3. Practice how you will communicate.
Next time that the two of you have a disagreement, do your best to put your communication skills to work. Try to handle the situation in the manner that you both discussed would be comfortable for you, and see if this helps the two of you resolve your differences together.
Though having a disagreement with a loved one can be difficult, especially if others get involved, there may be a way to solve these differences. So, talk to your partner. Try to find a way to communicate with each other about your issues so that both of you are comfortable, and do your best to put these communication skills to work when the time comes.






