Don't Make That Face At Me!

02 March 2010 Elsevier

Think back to your last fight with someone you love.  How did you feel afterwards?  How did you behave? Conflict with a loved one often leaves a person feeling terrible and then behaving badly.  So much so that these scenarios have become soap opera clichés.  After an argument, one partner may brood, slam the door, and then drive to a local bar to drown their sorrows in alcohol.  These dramas rarely have happy endings.  Given these stereotypes, how do people control their emotional reactions and prevent emotional storms and their attendant use of intoxicating substances?