What makes Conflict so Difficult?
What makes CONFLICT so difficult?
Conflict threatens our sense of self. The fact that another person seems to have the power to hurt us makes us feel weak, unstable, and unsafe.
In order to defend this sense of self and feel stronger, we may attempt demonstrate our own power to hurt them back. Mature? No.
Helpful? Definitely not.
Kind of understandable? Yes. The problem with focusing on defending yourself puts the energy in attempt to avoid the - pain and hurt - instead