@scott.austin.martin: Honest relationship skill question. When someone brings you something in a conversation - do you defend your image of yourself first? Or do you actually try to see and feel what they're saying? Do you hear it as data? Or as an attack? Gottman's research -30 years, three separate studies - identified the four horsemen of relationship rupture. Defensiveness is one of them. The cure is ownership. But the mechanism that makes ownership possible is the ability to downregulate your nervous system. When you shift back into parasympathetic activity, your ability to take in information, stay curious, and be present expands significantly. That's capacity. When you defend against the person who's trying to connect with you, you can't connect. That's why this is a skill worth learning. How does it show up in your life? #nervoussystem #relationships #relationshiptips #menscoach #defensiveness
It depends on the delivery. If my partner is projecting, casting blame, placing judgement of my character, then yes I naturally will be defensive.
2026-06-17 11:10:47
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lifeinthefoodchain :
So what do you do when your partner is mad/hurt about something you did, but she is 100% incorrect? She asked me on a Thursday to take the duvet to cleaners as we had guests coming in 9 days. On the following Monday she was upset about the duvet not being cleaned. I never said a word, just walked over to the fridge where we keep receipts and notices, showed her that it was dropped off on the Friday and had a Wednesday pick up. She never said a word or apologized for her actions, she simply turned and walked away. Based on this video, I should have accepted responsibility and acknowledged her emotions. I should not have defended myself at all. Is this correct?
2026-06-18 04:40:46
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Riley B :
I have audhd and alexathymia and I'm never truly sure what's going on inside me. I do get offended by someone telling me that I was doing something bad because I don't go about being bad.
2026-06-25 19:47:07
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G world :
I’m not exaggerating, but I was in a 3.5 year relationship & I never ONCE heard feedback from him. He discarded me because he was unhappy for 1 month
2026-06-24 17:25:48
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Rachel Unspoken :
My spouse is discovering these tools through the workplace— working as a supervisor for a team with different levels of emotional development.. and bringing them home. Education is so helpful! And then practice practice.
2026-06-17 14:02:47
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SaraStaysPresent :
Generally defensive pattern can be seen in all relational patterns if they are self aware, I truly believe the fix is healing old programming so that you’re present in the conversation and not triggered into a victim defense which does not help either party. My ex stood in defensive behavior and it didn’t matter my approach because he was still operating in unhealed wounds. He couldn’t truly hear me and it was incredibly hurtful. It’s so important to do the work… we all have things to work on and have to start looking in the mirror to repair rather than running or reacting so we can show up for a partner. Both parties healing and doing the inner work creates a space of capacity but also compassion for one another.
2026-06-23 13:35:03
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twez :
ANY defense is apparently bad. How do I get her to understand that I’m not being defensive, I just don’t want to be mischaracterised or held accountable for something I didn’t say or do no matter how much she feels upset by it or the wrong premise
2026-06-16 10:54:24
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baajan77 :
At first I could feel my body slipping into defense mode but then I'd try my best to understand the other person's perspective. I find the process of shifting from defensiveness to understanding the hardest part mentally (sometimes I'll act as if I understand, but it can take me a day to fully process it 😟)
2026-06-16 00:41:00
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