Relationships Made Easy

Do you open your eyes in the morning and your first thoughts are negative, or you notice a feeling of dread or worry lurking about? Well, you’re not alone. Morning anxiety is actually a relatively common experience and, believe it or not, it’s not just in your head. Yup. Your biology is against you too. Today you’ll learn why you have morning anxiety and my two clear steps to make it stop.  ______...

You can’t stop thinking about it, no matter how hard you try. You’ve got some event or interaction from your past or future on an endless negative loop in your brain and you’re feeling more anxious, depressed and overwhelmed as a result. Why do you do this when you know it doesn’t help, and how can you stop? Today I’m answering all your questions and bringing you my five steps to stop (or at least...

The research shows that resilient people do better in every area of life. They cope better with mental health issues like depression and anxiety, health crises, as well as money problems, and they do way better in all their relationships including romance, work and parenting. Today I’m teaching you the four ways to be more resilient so you can be happier in all your relationships. ________________...

Should You Date While You’re Going Through Therapy and Working on Healing? The short answer is no but you don’t have to wait until you’re completely done with therapy either. So, when is the right time to start dating? Today I’ll be teaching you why you should wait to date and the three ways to know that the time is right. ____________________________ Full blog and show notes: https://abbymedcalf....

He’d rather stay home, and you’d rather have dinner out. She needs alone time after work, and all you want to do is talk about your day. Introverts are often attracted to extroverts’ vivaciousness, while extroverts often want to be around the still, calm energy that introverts emit. So falling in love can feel easy, but being in a relationship then becomes hard as you have different wants and need...

So, you want to change some aspects of your personality. Maybe you’ve got a short fuse and want to be more calm. Maybe you’re shy and introverted and want to be more outgoing. Whatever your reason, you’re likely asking yourself, “Is it even possible to change my personality?” The short answer is, “Yes.” But there are some steps to make that happen. Today you’ll learn the five traits that make up y...

So many of you have told me that you find dating apps exhausting, confusing and overwhelming. Since I haven’t used them in over a decade, I brought in some experts. Today, I’ll be interviewing Ali Jackson and Erica Spera who will share their best dating app advice, so stay tuned. ____________________________ Get the show notes: https://abbymedcalf.com/best-dating-app-advice-an-interview-with-the-p...

Are you walking away from conversations feeling misunderstood, disrespected or dismissed? Do you find yourself repeating the same questions or desires over and over again, but nothing ever changes? Are you looking for ways to finally feel heard in an important relationship? Well, you’re in the right place! Whether you’re struggling with your partner, dad, sister or best friend, this three-step pro...

Jealousy has no place in a love relationship because jealousy is about fear, not love. But, it continues to be a huge issue in many relationships (I know this because you all keep asking me about it)! Today we’ll discuss the many ways jealousy might be showing up in your relationship, the eight things not to do if your partner is jealous, and the three ways to help move from jealousy to connection...

You messed up, or at least you think you did. Maybe it was a job you quit in the heat of the moment, not finishing your education ten years ago or cheating on your spouse. We can perceive big or little things as crimes that need to be punished in perpetuity. Many of us can easily forgive others, but when it comes to forgiving ourselves, we’re not so generous. But learning to forgive ourselves is c...

Whether you call it a consensually non-monogamous relationship or ethical nonmonogamy, open relationships can be hard to define. It’s not cheating or swinging, and it’s not polyamory. So, what are open relationships and do you want to consider it? Today I’m sharing my five-step process for knowing if an open relationship is right for you. ____________________________ Full blog and show notes: http...

If you’re like me, when you think of a relationship break, you’re remembering Ross Gellar on the show Friends , screaming, “We were on a break!” Well, let me tell you, that was not the right way to take a relationship break. But there is a healthy way to take a relationship break and you do it by asking (and answering) three important questions. ____________________________ Full blog and show note...

Does your mother make a comment about your haircut, and you blow up? Does your partner casually mention that they’re going out with friends after work, and you get upset and withdraw? When you’re triggered, you have a strong emotional reaction to something that isn’t equal to the situation. Today you’ll learn how to identify when you’re having a trigger and my top tools to effectively deal with tr...

Adjustment disorders are basically having excessive reactions to some stress (or stressors) in your life that result in overly strong emotions, increased negative thinking and some sort of change in behavior. The key is that the reaction to this event is way more intense than would typically be expected. As you might imagine, this can cause a lot of problems in your relationships, work or school....

The vast majority of people find it difficult to talk about money with partners, friends or family. At the root of this issue is something called money shame. To have effective conversations about finances with others, we have to understand money shame and how to overcome it. Today, I’ll not only be discussing money shame, but we’ll also talk about financial incompatibility, the beliefs you have a...

I’m not going to keep you in suspense on this one. You know you’re making a “right” decision, or following your “gut,” when you’re acting from the rational part of your brain, not from the fear part of your brain. What I’m going to help you with today is learning the difference between the two and my top five tips for knowing if you’re making the right decision and listening to your gut.  ________...

Shame doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter if you’re fat or thin, rich or poor, tall or short: shame is an equal opportunity emotion and it’s amazingly destructive. Research has linked it to violence, addiction, depression, sleep problems, eating disorders, bullying and anxiety. But what’s the difference between guilt and shame? And then what the heck is toxic shame? Today I’m answering all you...

Jealousy in a moment happens when you perceive someone or something else as a threat to your relationship. Retroactive jealousy is different because you feel threatened by something or someone in your partner’s past but there’s no current situation happening that’s triggering this feeling. Today I’m going to talk about the signs of retroactive jealousy, why you act this way and my top five tips fo...

My name is Abby, and I don’t like Valentine’s Day. There. I said it. But across the US and all around the world, people are celebrating Valentine’s Day either today or on another special date (depending on the country). Today I’m going to share the three steps for having a Valentine’s Day filled with connection, love and joy, whether you’re single or shacked up.  ____________________________ Full...

With Valentine’s Day around the corner in about 30 countries around the world, I thought it would be an excellent time to talk about Gary Chapman’s love languages. Let me say first that I’m not a Gary Chapman hater, and I think the Love Languages quiz can be fun and a little informative. However, this is not a one-size-fits-all theory and I’ve definitely found times that it’s even been detrimental...

I know you’ve heard that curiosity killed the cat, but that negative spin is all wrong! We know from the research that curiosity will help with everything from improving your relationships, to coping better with rejection to feeling happier and more fulfilled in your life. In the last thirty years, we’ve amassed a lot of great research illustrating the benefits of curiosity. In fact, describing a...

What do you do when your partner gets along great with their ex and wants to spend all holidays and main events with them and the kids? You’re invited too, of course, but you feel like a third wheel somehow and you’re wondering how to fit in. Do you push your feelings aside for the greater good or draw boundaries around your needs? Today, I’m answering a question from one of you as we figure out t...

Here we are with part two of The Five Steps to Having an Empowered Mindset. If you haven’t listened to the first part yet, that’s OK; this one stands on its own (although I encourage you to go back and listen to episode 269). Today we’re going to discuss having a fixed versus a growth mindset and the tips for having a growth mindset, which will lead to feeling strong, confident and empowered. ____...

An empowered mindset means that you make conscious choices followed by intentional actions to take control of your life. It means you take responsibility for creating the life you want and leave victimhood in the past. But how exactly do you do that? This is a special two-part episode (because I’ve got so much great stuff to share). In today’s episode, I’ll be outlining four of the five steps I wa...

I’ve said over and over that the secret to a life filled with connection, ease and joy is to create and hold boundaries. And there’s one big thing that generally gets in the way of holding those boundaries: having a victim mentality. In my almost 40 years of experience, working with thousands of people, this is an issue with almost every person I meet. Sometimes it’s a big issue, and sometimes it’...