Conflict is not what damages relationships most. It is the failure to repair afterwards. This article explores the three essentials of healthy conflict repair, accountability, repair and consistency, and explains why narcissists resist this process while codependents often over-function within it, hoping for change that never fully arrives.
In this episode I connect the wider culture to the private realities couples live with: how learned attitudes shape sexual scripts, and how those scripts can turn pornography into either an escape (often in codependency) or a sign of entitlement (often where narcissistic traits are present).
Why do some men turn to porn instead of leaving unhappy relationships? This article explains how codependency can drive secrecy, avoidance, and nervous-system coping, while narcissistic traits are more linked to entitlement and control. Learn how to spot the difference and use a reflection exercise to gain clarity.
Codependents often bond with potential rather than reality, staying invested in who someone could become. This article explains how early roles and nervous system activation keep hope alive, why occasional improvement is not stability, and how to separate compassion from commitment. It includes practical checks to choose based on consistent behaviour.
Explore the complex psychology of attraction, uncovering how familiarity and attachment styles shape our relationships and choices.
Explore the complexities of relationships entering 2026, covering love, compatibility, and the importance of personal identity.
Codependency often looks like kindness, but underneath it lies quiet, anxious control. In this piece, I explore how fear drives fixing, rescuing, and over-functioning and why reclaiming individuality is the true path to healing. If you’ve ever lost yourself in relationships, this will resonate deeply.
People-pleasing isn’t a personality trait. It’s a survival strategy. It’s something you learned early, in environments where being agreeable wasn’t optional , it was necessary.
Welcome to Therapy Shorts: small moments of reflection to help you steady yourself in a world that never stops moving. I’m Dr Nicholas Jenner, and in each of these brief episodes, we’ll take a simple idea and look at how it actually plays out in real life… in your relationships, your choices, and the way you speak to yourself.
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