The word ‘fetish’ comes from the Portuguese feitico, meaning ‘spell’, which in turn comes from the Latin facticius, meaning ‘artificial’ or ‘made up’. Someone with a fetish has sexual interests so deviant that they seem artificial or made up. Fetishism is indulging in a fetish, and a fetishist is a person having a fetish. Fetishism …
Attachment styles shape the way we connect with others, especially romantic partners. They’re shaped in early childhood and get reinforced throughout life. A person can develop a secure or insecure attachment style based on early childhood interactions with primary caregivers. People with a secure attachment style can form healthy relationships with others and themselves. Those …
Humans have a fundamental desire to be free and in control of their lives. They want to be able to do what they want with minimal restrictions on their freedom. A relationship tends to steal away some of that freedom because there is interdependence in a relationship. One partner’s choices affect another. Each partner tries …
Human societies are unequal. This is a natural consequence of some people being more valuable to society than others. Like any group, society values members who contribute to the group’s success. You’ll be valuable and of high status, if you contribute greatly to society. If you don’t, your status will be low. What do I …
Relationships take a lot of time and energy to maintain. People invest in relationships because the rewards they get from them in terms of happiness and satisfaction are worth it. When people get the rewards they want, they continue the relationship. When they don’t, they end them. However, there’s a middle ground between those two …
You’ve probably gotten sick of motivational speakers and success coaches constantly saying things like: “Failure is the stepping stone to success!”“Success is failure turned inside out!”“Don’t be afraid to fail!” They keep repeating these messages because they’re telling the truth. Also, because they’re constantly up against a deep-rooted tendency of the human mind- the tendency …
It’s frustrating when every conversation with your loved one turns into an argument. When you’re done arguing and finally get the time to reflect on what happened, you’re like: “We fight over such minor and silly things!” Arguing once in a while is typical for relationships, but when every conversation turns into an argument- when …
You’ve probably heard the saying, “If you love what you do, you don’t have to work a day in your life”. I’ve been loving what I do for a few years now and can attest to its truth. It’s a weird mental state to be in, frankly. You work a lot, and that work disappears …
Phone anxiety or telephobia is when you want to make or attend a phone call, but fear stops you from doing it. You know that the call is important to you, but you get so nervous that you try to talk yourself out of doing it. People who don’t like talking on the phone usually …
While occasional fights are typical for most relationships, a huge fight can drive a wedge into a relationship. Big relationship fights affect us differently than small fights that get quickly resolved. Huge relationship fights force us to re-evaluate the relationship. We wonder how things got so bad. We probe deeper than ever into what went …