Relationships Made Easy

What do you do when you're ready to move in together but your partner isn't? Today I'm putting on my Ask Dr. Abby hat and answering a question from you! Stay tuned! Full shownotes: https://abbymedcalf.com/171-ask-dr-abby-what-to-do-if-your-partner-wont-move-in-together/ _________________________________ Subscribe today to get my weekly thoughts, best practices and funny stories (you wo...

Developing empathy in relationships is the key to connection and communication. In fact, empathy is incredibly good for you! We know from the research that it not only strengthens relationships, but it also increases cooperation, helps people forgive, decreases negativity, aggression and being judgmental and even improves your physical health! Stay tuned to learn my 5 steps to becoming empathetic...

At its core, conflict avoidance is people pleasing due to a deeply ingrained fear of hurting or upsetting other people if you express your true feelings. This type of codependency leads to feelings of resentment and loneliness and ultimately hurts you and your relationships. Whether you’ve got a partner who’s conflict avoidant or you’re dealing with your own conflict avoidance, today’s episode is...

What do you do if you want to get married but your partner doesn’t? Today I’m answering that very question on this Ask Dr. Abby episode so stay tuned! Full shownotes: https://abbymedcalf.com/my-partner-is-scared-of-marriage-what-to-do-if-your-partner-doesnt-want-to-get-married/ _______________________________   Subscribe today to get my weekly thoughts, best practices and funny stories (you won’t...

No one can push our buttons like our family! The approaching holiday season means more time with those crazy people we love, which can equal more stress and more anxiety. But I’ve got your back! Today I’m teaching you my easy 3-step process to stay calm and centered when dealing with family stress and dysfunction during this holiday season. Full shownotes: https://abbymedcalf.com/how-to-stay-calm-...

Gaslighting is a dangerous form of manipulation where someone acts in such a way that you start doubting your perceptions, your memory or your own judgment. You often walk away from the conversation feeling like the crazy one. Gaslighting is a common theme among narcissists but it can show up in many different types of relationships. Today, I'll teach you the signs of gaslighting so you can ge...

Do you feel like your relationship isn't fair? Maybe you feel like you're always the one doing more of the heavy lifting, making more of the plans, figuring out the money, whatever it is, well, if that's what you've been feeling lately, then today's episode is for you. Full shownotes: https://abbymedcalf.com/unfair-relationships-what-to-do-if-your-relationship-doesnt-feel-fair/...

We’ve all been there. You set a healthy boundary with someone and feel good about it for about 5 minutes, and then the guilt begins to set in. You start thinking about how the other person is feeling and whether you’ve upset them. Or maybe now they’re angry and you’re regretting having said anything. If this is you and you’re ready to overcome your guilt and regret when setting boundaries, then yo...

In any relationship, even really good relationships, there are hurts that can build up and need to be forgiven if you want to grow your relationship into that next level of emotional closeness and connection. Today I’ll cover the problems you have when you try to forgive, why it’s good for you and my 5-step process to forgiving someone who hurt you. Full shownotes: https://abbymedcalf.com/how-to-f...

What do you do if your partner (or someone else you love) gaslights and blames you for things not going their way? You listen to today’s episode of Ask Dr. Abby! In this episode, a listener we’ll call Rachel writes in that her boyfriend blames her whenever things don’t go well between them. He blames her for making him late, argues with her that she takes too long getting ready and rolls his eyes...

Did you know that forgiveness is a choice? In this week’s podcast episode, I interviewed Dr. Robert Enright, the man Time Magazine calls “the Forgiveness Trailblazer” and author of the book that changed my life, Forgiveness is a Choice: A Step-by-Step Process for Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope . We’re digging into Dr. Enright’s evidence-based forgiveness model, what it means to forgive, and wh...

Sometimes it’s clear why we’re feeling angry but a lot of the time, we react angrily to something and later think, “Why did I get so mad?” or maybe you’re noticing an undercurrent of anger and resentment in your day-to-day life or that you seem to get mad way too easily. I’m going to go out on a limb and say this: If you’re noticing that you’re feeling anger, resentment and frustration on a daily...

Are you dealing with family stress? Lashing out at your mom for that condescending thing she said? Feeling guilty that you’re avoiding your dad because he drives you crazy? Today you’re going to learn my top 3 tips on how to not get triggered by family stress so you can find joy and peace in your relationship with your parents and siblings.   _____________________________________ Subscribe today t...

Are you dealing with family stress? Lashing out at your mom for that condescending thing she said? Feeling guilty that you’re avoiding your dad because he drives you crazy? Today you’re going to learn my top 3 tips on how to not get triggered by family stress so you can find joy and peace in your relationship with your parents and siblings. Full shownotes: https://abbymedcalf.com/got-family-stress...

How do you let things go that bother you? How do you stop overthinking -- going round and round in your head? Maybe your partner hurt you or you’re worried about paying your bills or maybe you’re freaking out about COVID and the Delta variant and you distract yourself for a bit, only to find all those thoughts and worries crashing down on you an hour later. Today I’m going to teach you a simple, e...

What do you do when an extended family member is creating a toxic atmosphere at family gatherings? How do you draw boundaries and feel seen and heard when dealing with toxic family relationships? I'm going deep on this question in today's episode! Full shownotes: https://abbymedcalf.com/ask-dr-abby-what-to-do-when-your-partner-avoids-difficult-conversations/   _____________________________...

Are you finding it hard to trust and connect with your partner because they avoid difficult conversations or lie to you about how they're really feeling to avoid upsetting you? Then today's show is for you! I'm answering another question from a listener with this exact problem and giving my top tips for creating connection! Full Shownotes: https://abbymedcalf.com/ask-dr-abby-what-to-do...

Feeling insecure and not good enough leads to you talking some serious smack to yourself, leaving you feeling anxious, crappy and even jealous. Research shows that your insecurity and all that disapproval inside your head not only hurts your physical and mental health, but it also negatively impacts how both you and your partner feel about your relationship. When you become more secure you’ll sile...

This week we’re doing an “Ask Dr. Abby” episode, where I respond to a question submitted by one of YOU! This week, someone wrote this: “Dear Dr. Abby, I’m feeling unloved and unappreciated or not good enough in some way. Is this a “me” problem, or is my partner causing it?” Stay tuned as I dive deep into issues of feeling unloved and unappreciated in our relationships and what it really means when...

Are you ready to improve your communication in all aspects of your life – with your partner, at work, with your family and friends? If I could boil down everything I’ve learned in the last 30 years to have great communication in both your business and personal life, it would be what I’m teaching you today. In this episode you’ll learn my five-step process to effective communication in every relati...

If you were sitting alone in a room and talking out loud, would you define that as communicating? No, I didn’t think so. But half the time you’re practically doing just that but calling it communicating. You’re speaking to (or at) your partner, coworker or child and think you’re communicating even though they’re not really listening to a word you’re saying! You might as well be alone speaking to a...

You’ve tried all the communication tools: you’ve been to couples counseling, attended workshops, read books, listened to podcasts and watched countless YouTube videos to learn how to communicate more effectively in your personal or work life. You’ve tried the new tool you learned with vim and vigor and maybe you saw some positive changes but soon found yourself falling back into old, unwanted patt...

Can’t stop obsessing about your ex or worrying about your bills? Or maybe you can’t stop beating yourself up over that “stupid” thing you said at work the other day? You’re not alone! Lots of us just can’t stop those negative thoughts! Luckily, there’s a research-backed way to stop ruminating called "self-distancing." Today I’m going to teach you all about self-distancing and my top 4 ways...

Is your mom always pointing out how you should have done something better? Do you share good news with your brother but then he poops all over it? Do you have a friend who says, “Let me just play devil’s advocate for a second?” There are good points to these people, and you love them, but you leave conversations feeling drained, sad, frustrated or resentful. Today, I’m teaching you my five-step pr...

Today I’m answering your top questions when it comes to porn in relationships: Is it an addiction? Is it cheating? What does the research say about it? What do you say about it, Abby? And how the heck do I deal with it, if it’s become an issue? I’m coming at you with all the answers today, so stay tuned! Grab my FREE Communication Tool Kit for Couples: https://abbymedcalfthriving.lpages.co/communi...