We chatted with Lisa Chase Patterson, she’s a Life Coach with more than twenty years experience with Relationships, Sexuality, Friendship, and Family Issues, and is a top Relationship Expert on JustAnswer.com – and she gave us some great tips!

1. The ‘exes’. It’s interesting to know how terrible the last guy/girl was, if for nothing else you can be sure not to repeat the same mistakes…but it’s so boring and so cliché and if you’re talking about your ex it probably means you’re not over them and shouldn’t be on a date anyway.

2. How much the other person reminds you of one of your parents

3. Your sex life (past or present) no matter how much a guy says he can ‘handle it’, believe me, he can’t.

4. How much you are in love with them or can’t stop thinking about them (whoa Nelly!)

5. You, you, you, you. If the only thing you can talk about is yourself, you’ll only be showing how shallow you are.

Image: Sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

What Not to Say

Kids are very perceptive creatures. They can pick up on even unspoken emotions but be ignorant of how to deal with them. The side effects of harboring the second hand stress are numerous. Your normally happy child may become depressed. They may become suddenly introverted. They may complain of stomach aches, sleeping problems or have separation anxiety. They may regress to baby stages or behaviors. A potty trained child may start wetting the bed. One of the most obvious signs is a sharp increase in cases of illness. If your usually healthy child becomes repeatedly ill, it may be a sign that your stress is rubbing off on them.

What can you do to remedy this problem? Talk to your kids. Reassure them that you have everything under control even if you don’t feel that way. Ask them about their concerns. Some of them may surprise you. My daughter once heard my husband and I bickering about an over indulgent shopping trip. He casually made a comment about having a house payment to make. My daughter overheard and interpreted his comment to mean that we were going to lose our home. We did not know why her stomach started hurting, until she finally blurted it out one day. We were so shocked, but in retrospect, could see how a child might derive such a conclusion from a passing comment.

Younger children, although not as verbally capable of expressing fears, can still communicate them through play. You can play pretend and let him be the parent, or even use puppets to act out his emotions. Kids wear their hearts on their sleeves and will usually let you know in some form, that they are stressed. If you know what to look for and how to deal with it, they should be back to their happy selves in no time! 

Post from: Blisstree

Is Your Stress Rubbing Off On Them?