Boundaries versus rules is an important distinction when we navigate power dynamics within relationships. A boundary is about power within me to make my decisions. A rule is about power over your decisions. Tara Thomas & Kia Handley talk about the different types of power in a relationship, and how to collaborate to express preferences, maintain boundaries, and navigate rules or agreements.

Emotional labour is the energy & effort required to perform the task of managing emotions for self & others, so how does it affect relationships? In the context of relationships, emotional labour includes a whole shit load of work performed to make sure others feel emotionally 'comfortable'. This piece will unpack some of the fuckery that comes with that work, and some of the common relational patterns arising from emotional labour.

Emotional self-awareness is one of the 3 facets of self-awareness which underpins all of the core skills in an emotionally intelligent person. This post unpacks the elements of emotional self-awareness, and provides some practical exercises to help develop your skills in that area.

Boundaries has become a real buzzword in popular psychology, and these days in almost all of my client intakes someone cites "boundaries" as one of their issues. But what the fuck does that even mean? In this introduction to boundaries we look at defining boundaries, common challenges, and identifying your strengths & gaps.

Relational skills are grounded in resourceful responses to the sensory data we receive from our environments & other people. Learning to strengthen interoception directly influences your capacity to identify physiological needs, regulate emotions, and connect relationally.

This is some pretty helpful background information about emotions, what are emotions, and how do they work, entirely borrowed from my Instagram posts which you can view below on this page, or browse @the.sugar.doctor at your leisure. Table of Contents What Are Emotions? View original post in full on IG here. What is an Emotion…