Feeling as though we’re not being heard can often trigger feelings of anger, frustration, sadness, and fear.  It can seem as though our words and our thoughts are not important to others, leaving us consumed with invalidation - the feeling or perception that someone else isn’t hearing you, is dismissing your thoughts, or is just flat out telling you that you’re wrong. Just as I’ve spoken about the “emotional rollercoaster” before, this is another one that can quickly zoom off from the station, launching us into a spiral of confrontation and ineffective communication.

Why does it seem so hard to stop this rollercoaster, or better yet, keep ourselves from jumping on board?  We just can’t seem to stop; we get on board and brace ourselves for the twists and turns of yelling, hurtful words, crossed arms, and ‘stink eye’ stares.  Wouldn’t it be nice, though, to just sit down and tell the other person how we’re really feeling and avoid all of this unnecessary bickering?  Effective communication is the key to avoiding these conflicts. Check out my latest blog post to learn more about the power of effective communication, as well as some tools to help beef up your communication skills.