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I could write about trust, but some people have already written very well about it.
Two interesting articles on it.
I endorse much of what is written, there.
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The Gottman Institute
A RESEARCH-BASED APPROACH TO RELATIONSHIPS
What to Do if You Don’t Trust Each Other
Terry Gaspard, MSW, LICSW / April 24, 2019
A therapist shares seven ways to build trust in your relationship.
Maura, 47, and Kevin, 49, sit on opposite ends of the couch during their first couples counseling session. When I ask them /
about some of the challenges they’ve faced in their four-year marriage, Maura opens up about why she requested to meet with me.
Kevin’s been giving me the cold shoulder and I feel his anger. He just can’t seem to get over his resentment toward me /
since he found out that I charged over $5,000 on credit cards over the last year. At times, I told him about my purchases /
for my new business. Other times, I worried that he’d think I was being frivolous. I guess I never saw myself as being dishonest /
until Kevin saw my Visa bill and got very upset.
Like Maura and Kevin, many of the couples that I work with in my practice have feelings of mistrust when it comes to facing /
day-to-day challenges. In The Science of Trust, Dr. John Gottman explores the milestones that all relationships have, particularly /
in the early stages. He writes, “As we shall see, most of these issues have to do with trust.”
Trust is an essential aspect of intimacy
Maura knows that her emotional sensitivities make it difficult for her to open up to Kevin and increase her fear of being hurt /
or left by him. She strives to be transparent with Kevin about finances but struggles to do so because she doesn’t feel secure /
in her relationship with him. After enduring a difficult divorce, Maura has trust issues and describes how she “walks on eggshells,”
fearing she will lose Kevin.
In Hold Me Tight, Dr. Sue Johnson explains that by being vulnerable, you can create a level of emotional safety with your partner.
It’s the primary way to strengthen a marital bond and keep love alive. Through vulnerability, you’ll be able to re-establish /
a secure emotional attachment and preserve intimacy in your marriage. Brené Brown also champions this idea in her popular /
TED talk, The power of vulnerability.
Even though Maura doesn’t believe she was overspending on her new business, she also realizes that withholding /
financial information is creating mistrust and damaging her marriage.
Johnson explains that you can tell when one of your “raw spots” has been hit because there is a sudden shift in the emotional tone /
of the conversation. She writes, “You and your love were joking just a moment ago, but now one of you is upset or enraged, /
or, conversely, aloof or chilly. You are thrown off balance. It is as if the game changed and no one told you. The hurt partner /
is sending out new signals and the other tries to make sense of the change.”
Kevin reflects.
I don’t always like to talk things through, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love Maura. She’s insecure and wants me to reassure her /
all the time that I’m there for her and she needs to realize that I am not going to leave her like her ex did. When she gets mistrustful,
her voice changes and she often threatens to leave me.
Maura responds thoughtfully.
Things don’t always go smoothly when we disagree. When we have conflict, Kevin doesn’t usually want to talk about it. And I have /
a problem because my ex also gave me the silent treatment and then left after sending me a text that he wanted a divorce. /
I feel rejected when Kevin goes into his shell, but I’m learning to let go of my old baggage and give him space.
So where do they go from here?
Learning to trust each other
One of the hardest things about trusting someone is learning to have confidence in your own judgment. Trust is about much more /
than finding signs that your partner has been unfaithful. It’s about believing that they have your best interests at heart.
Every person is born with the propensity to trust others but through life experiences, you may have become less trusting as a form /
of self-protection. Falling in love and getting married can be invigorating and scary all at once. An inability to trust a new partner /
may take several forms, from feeling they’re dishonest or secretive, to doubting they’re going to keep their promises /
or be dependable.
Take a moment to consider this: Your partner is not solely responsible for creating mistrustful feelings. In most cases, you must take
equal responsibility for creating an atmosphere of safety and security in your relationship. In order to begin the process /
of overcoming mistrust, ask yourself:
- What is the story I’m telling myself?
- Does my fear of loss and abandonment cloud my perspective and cause me to overreact to my partner’s actions?
- Is my mistrust coming from something that is actually happening in the present, or is it related to my past?
- Do I feel comfortable asking for what I need and allowing myself to be vulnerable?
- Do I bring my best self to my interactions with my partner?
- Do I possess self-love and allow myself to be loved and respected?
Many relationships are sabotaged by self-fulfilling prophecies. If you believe your partner will hurt you, you can unconsciously /
encourage hurts to emerge in your relationship. But day by day, if you learn to operate from a viewpoint that your partner loves you /
and wants the best for you, you can enjoy trust in your marriage.
Here are seven ways to proactively build trust in your relationship.
1. Acknowledge your feelings and practice being vulnerable in small steps
Build confidence in being more open with your partner. Discussing minor issues (schedules or meals) is a great place to start /
before tackling bigger matters like disciplining kids or finances.
2. Be honest and communicate about key issues in your relationship
Be sure to be forthcoming about finances, your past, and concerns with a family member, co-workers, or children. /
Don’t sweep important issues under the rug because this can lead to resentment.
3. Challenge mistrustful thoughts
Ask yourself: Is my lack of trust due to my partner’s actions, my own insecurities, or both? Be aware of unresolved issues /
from your past relationships that may be triggering mistrust in the present.
4. Trust your intuition and instincts
Have confidence in your own perceptions and pay attention to red flags. Be vulnerable and ask for reassurance if you feel mistrustful.
5. Assume your partner has good intentions
If he or she lets you down, it may just be a failure in competence–sometimes people simply make a mistake.
6. Listen to your partner’s side of the story
Believe that there are honest people in the world. Unless you have a strong reason to mistrust her or him, have faith in your partner.
7. Practice having a recovery conversation after an argument
Take a short break if you feel overwhelmed or flooded and set a time to process what happened. This will give you both time /
to calm down and collect your thoughts so you can have a more meaningful dialogue with your partner.
According to Dan Wile, author of After the Fight, after a disagreement your focus needs to be on listening /
to your partner’s perspective, collaborating, building intimacy, and restoring safety and goodwill.
In The Science of Trust, John Gottman explains that practicing emotional attunement while relaxing together can help you /
stay connected in spite of your differences. This means turning toward one another by showing empathy, responding appropriately /
to bids for connection, and not being defensive.
Asking your partner open-ended questions is also a great way to increase emotional closeness and build trust. If you ask questions /
that require a yes or no answer, you’re closing the door to intimate dialogue. In other words, take your time and make love /
to your partner with words.
For a relationship to succeed in the long run, you must be able to trust each other. Building trust with a partner is really /
about the small moments of connection that allow you to feel safe and to truly believe that your partner will show up for you. /
It’s the bedrock of a happy, long term partnership.
How to rebuild trust when it’s been broken
In their new book Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love, John and Julie Gottman suggest that if you break /
any agreements about trust with your partner, there are steps to fix what’s been broken. These steps include setting a time to talk, /
naming the feelings you experienced due to the breach of trust without blame or criticism, listening to your partner without judgment,
and each partner describing their perspective and discussing any feelings that were triggered by the incident.
The final three steps essential for rebuilding trust, according to the Gottmans in Eight Dates, are both partners assessing /
how they contributed to the incident and holding themselves accountable, each person apologizing and accepting an apology, /
and developing a plan to prevent further breaches of trust from occurring.
An important part of my work with Maura and Kevin focused on facilitating conversations between them that helped to rebuild trust
and affirm their commitment to one another over time. Specifically, they worked through the steps in Eight Dates /
and were eventually able to apologize to each other for their part in the issues they were struggling with.
For instance, Kevin was able to be vulnerable and apologize for giving Maura the silent treatment, which triggered her feelings /
of mistrust and insecurity. Instead of telling her she was “too needy,” he began responding to her bids for connection more often. /
Fortunately, Maura gave Kevin a sincere apology for her financial infidelity related to expenditures for her new business, /
and she promised to practice full disclosure in the future.
Maura put it like this.
It was unexpected when Kevin was willing to listen to my side of the story and not dish out blame. I made a mistake and was willing
to accept responsibility for my actions but he didn’t rub it in or make me feel worse than I already did. It feels like we can start fresh
now that I’ve apologized and made a promise to be more open with Kevin. I know that I’m lucky he forgave me.
You have the power to break free from the hold that mistrust has on your relationship and create the kind of intimacy you deserve.
From the site Gottman
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What To Do if You Don’t Trust Your Partner
Mistrust can spread through a relationship like a wildfire. Trust from both partners are the pillars that hold up a relationship, /
and when they’re knocked, disconnection occurs. Here's our guide on building trust and fixing it when it's broken.
Written by Chance Marshall / 30/07/2020
What to do if you don’t trust your partner? /
One of the hardest things about trusting someone is learning to have confidence in your own judgment.
Our capacity to trust others is determined by our life experiences. /
Mistrust is a form of self-protection: the less you trust, the more you’ve been hurt.
Cycle of Mistrust
Mistrust can spread through a relationship like a wildfire and it can happen in stages. /
First it might be doubting your partner and feeling uncertain about their trustworthiness and dependability. /
Doubt, if unresolved, grows into suspicion over time. Suspicion is belief without proof. /
This causes anxiety and feelings of apprehension or uneasiness which can often manifest physically (nervousness, a rapid heartbeat, anger, a knotted stomach, or even disgust). /
And when you’re anxious, you become fearful; mistrust at this point in your relationship stops you from being open and vulnerable.
Finally when you feel fearful, you go into self-protection mode: You withdraw, the walls come up and you stop your partner from getting close to you.
Trust from both partners are the pillars that hold up a relationship, and when they’re knocked, disconnection occurs
When you can no longer be vulnerable with the other person, you begin to experience different things in your relationship.
Take a moment to consider this: Your partner is not solely responsible for creating mistrustful feelings. /
In most cases, you must take equal responsibility for creating an atmosphere of safety and security in your relationship. /
In order to begin the process of overcoming mistrust, ask yourself:
- What is the story I’m telling myself?
- Does my fear of loss and abandonment cloud my perspective and cause me to overreact to my partner’s actions?
- Is my mistrust coming from something that is actually happening in the present, or is it related to my past?
- Do I feel comfortable asking for what I need and allowing myself to be vulnerable?
Here are 8 ways to build trust in a relationship:
1. Be open, acknowledge feelings & practice being vulnerable.
(…)
2. Assume your partner has good intentions.
(…)
3. Be honest and communicate about key issues in your relationship.
(…)
4. Acknowledge how past hurts may trigger mistrust in the present.
(…)
5. Listen to your partner’s side of the story.
(…)
6. Trust your intuition.
(…).
7. Practice repair after an argument.
(…)
8. Know that it is not needy to say what you need.
(…)
How to rebuild after trust has been broken:
The natural rhythm of relationships is to go from harmony to disharmony to repair and restoration. But lots of people get stuck /
in disharmony and push apart so hard that they can’t or won’t engage in repair. The goal is to move forward together, /
not to move backward.
If trust has been broken, there are steps you can take to repair:
- Set a time to talk and name the feelings you experienced due to the breach of trust without blame or criticism.
- Listen to your partner without judgment, and, each of you, describe your perspective and discuss any feelings that were triggered /
by the incident.
- Both of you assess how you contributed to the incident and hold yourselves accountable.
- Both apologise from a place of genuineness and accept the apologies.
- Develop a plan to prevent further breaches of trust from occurring.
From the site The Self Space