Counseling

Here are some things that I learned after going to counseling with my mom to improve our relationship:
1. Mirroring - repeating what the other person said (until we get it right!). So often, we don't feel like the other party heard what we said or we're not listening to what the other person is saying. Mirroring requires that both parties listen to each other and comprehend what the other person is communicating.

2. Taking a timeout. When it gets too intense, take a break, and come back and resolve the issue later. It is important to come back and resolve the issue and not just take a timeout and not come back and resolve the issue.

3. Anger is a secondary emotion --- it is caused by something else. e.g. Feeling disrespected, wronged, or not appreciated. So often we focus on the anger part, but that does not get us any where. It is important to identify the issue causing the anger.