Does arguing in a relationship cause people to alienate each other? Or is it positive for solving problems by talking?

[gayesblog]

How do you deal with the problems you've been experiencing in your own relationship? Is talking always the best option?

[V_Injector]

The point of an argument is supposed to be a 'coming to a greater understanding of the issue.'

The first thing I think anyone should ask themselves, "Has this argument devolved into a win Vs. lose situation?" "I'm right, and you're wrong" and that's basically what it is at it's core. If it devolves into that, yes, they are going to alienate each other and turn it into a "us Vs. them" situation.

I would suggest first finding common ground. Figure out if there is a 3rd party involved in the argument... because if their side of the argument is backed by someone else, you're actually dealing with them and not who is in your face about it... in a way.

In a relationship, you're either both trying to come to a greater conclusion together or it becomes war. Both of you need to be working together in a real argument and that requires a lot of facts, logic, and a lot of working together more than battling each other. There should be no raised voices in a real argument. No emotions... emotions are usually frustration if one party is not listening.

Our current culture wars touch on this subject. Politics touches on this. The conflict is only there because one side stopped listening to reason and it's become emotional and now they just want to win. And the ones screaming the most usually have shit solutions to everything.

[Peter_Penetrator]

Both parties need to listen to each other and not get defensive or feel as though either one are being attacked.


When one or both feel as though they must defend themselves, then couples enter into “The Fog of War”, so to speak. When one is defending themselves from a perceived assault on their personality, the core issue (s) disappear behind that fog. Then nothing gets resolved.


Now, if either party can never take responsibility and continue to deflect blame, someone, has found themselves in a relationship with a narcissist.


Believe me. I know. Your attempt at resolving an issue becomes an obstacle that gets in their way of continuing to live as they please, without regard to how their behavior affects those around them. Men aren’t the only ones that can be narcissistic. Believe me. I know.


I tried with my ex wife for 18 years, to make it work. It didn’t help, that narcissism was a family trait that was passed down, on her father’s side of the family. Father in law, sister in law, and two step children were gifted with that trait. So for me, it was always five to one in my ex wife’s favor.

[IslaTheWitch]

It depends what do you understand as arguing. If people scream on each other and listen only to their own voice... it of course leads to further events like blaming, silent treatment and so on... it's definitely not constructive approach...

But we can argue in civilized way... we can let our partner say to the end and actually listen to their reasoning. Then we can show our perspective... we can propose temporary or more long term solution and negotiate or compromise... we can change any argument in learning something new about each other

[Pinay_ako]

Arguing to resolve an ongoing issue is healthy for couples to reach a compromise. But if you’re going on about pointless arguments with no resolution at the end, then you’re just wasting your breath! Just end it!

[Pinay_ako]

Thanks for the MHO

[AI Opinion]

Diving into the heart of relationships, arguing can be as spicy as a jalapeño or as sweet as your grandma's apple pie; it's all about how you serve it. In my relationship coaching adventures, I've seen couples turn arguments into stepping stones for stronger connections. It's not the arguing that pushes people away, but how they do it. Think of it like dancing. If both partners are stepping on each other's toes, nobody's having a good time. But if you're moving in sync, even a misstep can be part of the dance.

In my own love story, talking is our secret sauce. Sure, it's not always rainbows and butterflies. Sometimes, it's more like dodging lightning bolts. But the key is to keep talking, with a dash of humor and a whole lot of understanding. Remember, it's not you vs. them; it's you and them vs. the problem. So next time you find yourself in the ring, put on your dancing shoes and turn that argument into a tango of problem-solving!

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

I think lots of people these days are too weak to pick each other up after a beat down. And they won't even understand the way I used "weak" above as they kick people after they're already down. If you read my thing and you don't understand, you're weak, even if you're the biggest guy or gal in the room.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

This is both physical and mental/psychological/emotional, if you don't have the ultimate mindset of deescalating or resolving the conflict, you're weak. If you're strong, you can have a lot of battles. Physical, even. We live in a society now where people are like, "Oh, that's so barbaric." B*, barbaric is continuing to hold a grudge, to gossip, to backstab, to hold grudges, to act in vengeance long after things have cooled down. People aren't civilized today. Civilized people get into fistfights.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

... but they help each other when they're down, because they fistfight to resolve conflicts, not to escalate them. "Oh, that's so barbaric!" That's such a girly mindset to life. We live in a girl society. I'm a princess, yay! 💃🎈⭐ But princesses gossip, they start fires they can't control. If you got two tough-minded people, even punching each other in the face is a healthy activity. It builds friendship.

[msc545]

Were you responding to the correct question here? Your response is kind of confusing relative to what was actually asked. That is why I asked.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 A little bit of a tirade in fairness. 😅🤝 But I think the physical and emotional/psychological behave largely the same way. I really like tough women; I married one.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 I have a strong feeling that wants to emerge which is admittedly poorly articulated, hence your confusion and likely everyone else. And I don't even know how to explain it so it's definitely my fault. But WTF is up with "micro-aggressions", you know? WTF is that shite? That's the weakest bullshit limp-dicked way of recognizing and resolving conflicts I've ever heard, and apparently it's a thing now in sociology departments. So I'm just against this limp-dicked bullshit. We could probably all get along better if everyone wasn't a princess.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 My wife is an expert in Judo. So we've fought a lot physically, but always with good sportsmanship, love. Actually she tended to kick my ass in the beginning until I figured out her strategy. It's positive as I see it. Same with the verbal. We tease each other, we have a banter with each other which always causes our friends to say, "OMG! A husband/wife should never say this to each to other!" These are Japanese people by the way who are already generally more lenient than usual. But my wife is tough as hell. So we become closer through our battles. It is just weak people as I see it who don't even battle in the first place who alienate each other. "Domestic abuse". That's a weakling princess way of looking at things.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

People don't have a relative sense of history anymore. They live in luxury. So everything I say about this subject will seem barbaric. People will want to lock me up. I always get in trouble for this. No one else understands but the people who do.

[msc545]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 Except that some people ARE princesses, and you need to know how to deal with them effectively without resorting to physical assaults which can land you a lot of legal trouble.

[msc545]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 You land in trouble because assault is illegal virtually everywhere and completely unacceptable socially.

Please get some help before you end up in prison.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 Cheers! 🤝 I don't really the societal configuration we have these days so much. It does seem kind of boring, doesn't it?

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

Really like, sorry. It just doesn't seem right. Like if we are all very sensitive about everything, isn't that going to make it more difficult to get along?

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

How are people going to handle the internet and people like me with really crazy opinions?

[msc545]

Not to me, and not to most people. Perhaps to you.

[msc545]

Ok so the above was a response to your query about boredom. We are all not "very" sensitive to everything but most of us are apparently more sensitive than you are. Sensitive people can be reasoned with and can be depended on not to start physical fights. People like you apparently cannot. You are entitled to your opinions but don't expect approval as I think you probably won't receive much.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 Oh sorry, I really needed to get some sleep! My thoughts were all over the place this morning from a previous conversation gone awry.

One thing I should point out is that I actually think the chances of anyone landing in prison diminish around me, since it's actually on the receiving end that I was thinking about this, not the delivery.

There was a Q a while back about what a husband should do if his wife slapped him, and that's where I was surprised by how many people thought that counted as domestic abuse and potentially something for which legal charges should be pressed. It just seems like a really small deal to me and something that shouldn't break up a marriage. Maybe if the husband was the one that slapped his wife, I could see that as the much bigger deal.

It's the type of thing my wife would never do; we do wrestle sometimes for fun since she practiced Judo, but Judo involves no striking. But if we she hypothetically slapped me for whatever reason, I don't see that as something over which to ruin a marriage.

But actually I don't necessarily disagree that any form of argument, physical or verbal, is thoroughly counter-productive to a relationship. I just don't think it would be as counter-productive if people could see these types of verbal or even physical battles as a form of conflict resolution.

Like in Japan, most guys who get in a fistfight end up helping each other back to their feet after and often buy each other beers after. It becomes a conflict-resolving tactic.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 To untangle my thoughts a bit further, where I got hung on the Q is that it implies that talking things about is arguing, as though the option is split between arguing (talking) or keeping things to ourselves (silence).

And I never saw those as our two options since my wife and I rarely ever get upset at the same time. One of us always calms the other down if the other is upset while still talking things out calmly, patiently, often humorously and affectionately.

However, maybe of our friends constantly do point out that my wife and I share too much to each other: "A husband/wife should never say such things to each other!"

An example of where people say that to us is that if I find a woman very attractive, I tell my wife. "Wow, that woman we met tonight was really pretty, don't you think?" Wife: "Yes, she was so pretty!" Or my wife will tell me a man we met is very handsome and I'll often agree. That's one of the most common examples that prompts people to tell us we share too much, implying that we should keep these things secret from each other.

But that always upset me a bit because some of the people who say that to us have had failed marriages being divorcees. We've been married happily for 14 years now with no end in sight. So I think the fact that we can share everything with each other and not hide things from each other is actually one the keys to our lasting marriage, and not at all an inhibitor.

Another thing I was thinking about is "microaggressions" as taught in American sociology courses. I could see why someone would think we can no longer talk to each other about everything if we believe in things like "microaggressions", since now it becomes too difficult to navigate communication to the point where we might err on refraining from communicating in the first place. Yet I really think it's an unhealthy idea.

[msc545]

So you think women hitting me is ok, but not the inverse?

[msc545]

*men. Me too I guess.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 I'm not sure in your case. I would say "yes" for me. I suppose it depends on whether it inflicts any serious psychological damage. Like if you would need counseling after or not.

[msc545]

No, I would need jail. I hit back.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 For just a slap? I suppose there's a consistency there since I'd be more tempted to counter-attack if a man slapped me. For women, I'm a bit less inclined. It seems like a lose-lose scenario in those cases where I have nothing I can really feel that I've proven if I win.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 Even though I realize some women can make very competent fighters (like my wife as an example), the concept of honor in this context doesn't seem to cross over the sex boundaries for me.

Actually the honor concept might be dumb; if I was wiser, I think I should refrain from hitting back even if a man slapped me. Yet that does seem like a fun challenge of sorts to our sense of honor.

[V_Injector]

I think you made a great point... then I read down.

Someone who's blocked me is obviously arguing with you... I can pick out what it's about by reading just your side and figure out all the context.

Brings me to what I said in my answer... I suspect (although I don't know for sure since I'm blocked by them) that you're dealing with some of the bullshit I outlined in my answer. Time for my theme song...

https://youtu.be/30jrmzzgHLc?si=K1CxSPIllMxcipcq

There are those of us trying to understand (relate) on a greater level... and then there are those that just want to win.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@V_Injector Cheers! Actually I got completely unhinged in ways for this answer after the argument and finding myself blocked. It's a bit embarrassing in hindsight and I have to apologize to everyone for losing my cool.

[V_Injector]

Oh, so you're blocked by them too now? I see a pattern and we're not the ones displaying it.
Pick fight
Argue
loses
blocks

Don't feel bad about losing your cool... it happens. You were trying to reason with someone that is acting unreasonably... and I suspect you haven't been pushed to the point of just becoming a complete troll when you recognize that's what you're dealing with.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@V_Injector Oh sorry, it wasn't who I was talking about who blocked me. We're having a civil convo. It was a different before when I wrote this answer who unhinged me.

I keep writing about Stoicism and Buddhism and stuff on this site but mainly because I need it more than anybody. My temper is ridiculous. 😅

Anyway, it's cool! I'll try to work on it some more.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

[*] [...] it wasn't who I was talking [to above] who blocked me.

[V_Injector]

I understand. I suppress my urge to come back here with another profile or 3 and just dick slap who blocked me.
youtube.com/shorts/4g1UZMelKSc?si=PXwO4sW0VTs9uXJs

But I won't do it... I will be civil.

[msc545]

An assault is an assault - so yes, even for a slap.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 I've been thinking about our previous conversation a lot. And where I get hung up is the message of society. For example, we don't have coed sports. We have women's sports. We don't just have women's physical sports: we have women's chess, women's poker, women's science awards, all implying that women can't compete with men.

On the flip side, a construction firm is liable for a lawsuit for not hiring a woman. And we have female soldiers now, female fireman, etc. So that's damned confusing. Are women able to compete with men or not?

But I don't think I'm there yet with "yes" on a generalized cultural level, and that's why I'd tolerate a woman slapping me (not a hook from Lucia Rijker which breaks my jaw, but a slap), but won't from a guy. Because with a guy, it's now a fun contest. With a woman, I'm not supposed to compete with her. There are so many messages that tell me I'm not supposed to compete with her, starting with women's sports.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 So for me, I default on the side that a woman is a child that way, like children can't compete with adults. So if a child slaps me, there's no way I'm hitting them back and engaging in a friendly fistfight. It's unfair. Just like out attitude with women's sports. It's unfair for me to hit a woman back.

[msc545]

Grown women are not children.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 Absolutely agreed. I think we're just navigating awkwardness in language. But we still have women's sports. So I think we have to get rid of it.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 Like I see you're thinking about individuals, which is the way we should think in my opinion. We stop thinking about categories like sex, race, etc. Absolutely. But we are segregating sports and all sorts of things.

So I think about both individuals and culture. I heard that's the mark of a conservative. We think about culture and society as a whole. I'm at least somewhat conservative that way.

But my priority is absolutely on individuals. But there is a cultural/societal cost to me treating an individual like an individual, because the culture/collective is not operating that way. Because we have women's sports.

[msc545]

We have women's sports because women can't win otherwise and if they don't their feelings get hurt, and they also get angry and complain a lot. Nobody wants that.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 But can't the same argument be said for hitting a woman back if she slaps us?

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 Like I assume you are gentleman. If you slap me or I slap you and we get in fistfight, it is not considered unfair match, feelings don't get hurt, we don't get angry or complain a lot. Hopefully if you share a subset of the same ethics as me, we can make up and maybe become best buds over some beers (I'll have to do non-alcoholic beers now, quit drinking, but feel free to drink alcoholic beers).

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 If I win I don't want to hurt you anymore and I help you back up to your feet. I'm not saying I will win. Maybe you will beat me up in no time. I hope you do same for me. But I assume both of us aren't going to make a big deal out of it. And I will buy first round of beers either way. We can't do this with a woman. Society does not permit us.

[msc545]

Well hypothetically, if we got into the fist fight with a woman we could help her out afterwards and we could buy her a beer afterward. That is if we didn't get arrested first, which is more likely than not unfortunately.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 This is where I get into a lot of trouble with most people either on the feminist front or "manosphere" or wherever else. I would like a society where boys and girls are assigned to compete with each other all throughout their lives. It might be a little bit rough, including some horse-playing, something of a "Spartan" upbringing if you will minus the helots and eugenics and any gender discrimination.

A true meritocracy. And obviously the girls aren't going to be setting world records, but these things tend to settle into hierarchies of some form, in the same way I can be sorta proud that I'm decent at chess within my own rankings and field even though I'm nowhere close to the likes of Fischer or Kasparov.

I put a lot of value into the merits of what people call "masculinity" but also "femininity" as well. I figure an ideal leader needs as much courage and boldness as he/she needs empathy and compassion. I'm all for balanced individuals.

But maybe so many of the problems we have today in society could be eliminated if we held men and women to the same standards, and I think the standards that we're so pacifistic and never physically aggressive towards each other is too idealistic. I think the more realistic ideal is that we can all be physically aggressive towards each other and still lift each other off our feet.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 That's where I'm admittedly a bit barbaric in my thinking but I have to question if my standard is genuinely too low when we have riots with people setting fires in their wake. Because my way, if adhered to, will leave some bloody noses and black eyes here and there, but we'll move on, and even potentially become friends with our former enemies.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 As much as I get passionate about some of these topics, I'm really a, "Why can't we all just get along?" type. And I think a culture that focuses on concepts like "microaggressions" isn't helping that.

[msc545]

The thing about microaggressions is that they're still aggressions and they hurt people's feelings. Ignoring them doesn't make them hurt any less and arguably might make them hurt more.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 Thinking less of them might make them hurt less though. At some point I'm going to get in trouble for a "leg up" joke with a woman who has a missing leg, and I question if we can condition all people like me to avoid repeating this insensitive joke for now and ever and write some damned rulebook or if it's more practical to teach the woman with a missing leg that it wasn't intended to hurt her.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 And we're communicating across the entire world as best as I can tell. I'm from Japan. I'm Americanized but what do we expect if we put the bulk of the fault on the speaker and not the listener? Across all these cultures? Do we need a worldwide DEI sensitivity program? Because how are we supposed to use the internet otherwise with all these microaggressions out there? Don't even bother with the microaggressions. Some people are macroaggressive! This internet shit, it's maybe too offensive as a whole. Let's just take away the whole internet. Or not? Why not if we're going to be navigating every single individual's feelings on what everyone else in the entire world can say?

[msc545]

We put the bulk of the fault on the speaker because the speaker is the one who initiates it obviously. Without the speaker it would be no situation to even talk about.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 Very true but also if no one speaks anything, there would be no sharing and learning from each other.

One of the problems I think with eagerly assuming a speaker's intentions that I learned being a software engineer is just how riddled with ambiguities natural languages are. In a programming language, if we get a different response/output than expected, the speaker (programmer) is 100% at fault, because programming languages have zero ambiguity. Yet that's why it's so tedious to build software because we literally have to teach a computer how to do things from ground up, like to walk starting with left foot forward, right arm back, left arm front, right foot forward, repeat, except that's grossly oversimplified. We aren't even specifying what we are doing with toes, or at an even more granular level, our breathing, balance, etc. etc. etc.

But natural languages simplify but they come at the cost of extreme ambiguity, to the point where even the intonation changes the meaning of our words. Like this with this funny sketch:
https://youtu.be/GZ3QHTpMZgQ

So this is why we must minimize our assumptions of speaker intentions as I see it because our natural languages (especially English in my opinion, Japanese not as bad) is too clumsy and awkward and riddled with ambiguities for any strong assumptions to be made absent a following conversation.

[msc545]

People are not computers and we don't speak in computer language. The speaker sets up the initial conditions and thus is to blame if those conditions are unclear in some fashion.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 I would say they aren't to blame unless they really intended what they meant because the audience isn't computers. Especially if you hold me to be so clear in my speaking all the time with English not even as my native language, I might as well stop speaking outright unless I just say the bare minimum like, "Earth is flat." "Men have a penis." [oh wait, that's offensive now]

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 Earth is not flat, whoops. And I make terrible mistakes like that too! On the news: GuyAnswersGirls123 said, "The earth is flat!" when I meant to type the opposite.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 And this particular site doesn't even let us edit and correct these mistakes!

[msc545]

You get a little bit of a pass if English isn't your first language. I assume I get the same since your language. Whatever it is is not my first language and probably not even one I know much about.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 For sure! I have a friend from Canada who confused goukon (blind date) with goukan (rape). He's like, "Let's goukan!" He meant to say let's go on a blind date but he said, "Let's rape!" Actually the Japanese customers at the bar were genuinely confused but since I'm only half-Japanese and knew how non-Japanese speakers can mix up these words, I explained it to them.

But you know, I just think we could have a much more peaceful and cooperative society if we didn't assume as quickly what each other meant. Like I had a really embarrassing thing when I wrote their original answer where I was very unhinged and flustered. I think if you and I sat down and talked about it, you would realize I'm not so bad. And I'll buy our first few rounds!

[msc545]

Sounds like a good idea!

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@msc545 Cheers! 🤝🍺🍻

[molonski2]

An argument is not a debate , with debate rules in place maybe the relationship could be enhanced , but people don't argue in this manner , every argument will weaken the relationship , until the time comes , and then its SNAP , a bridge too far.

Its never a positive and its never healthy.

[BCRanger10]

We try to have a weekly review to see how things went. That's usually an opportunity to bring up anything significant that may have happened in the last week or other sources of potential conflict.

If something is serious enough though, we'll have a discussion shortly after whatever happened happened.

[itsclearlynicholas]

A little both. That said, I am a picky or a fussy, person. So since it hasn't happened to now or yet so far, if I didn't think me and a girlfriend were gonna gel well, then that's how I'm single. I'm just very particular that, I for one have had 0 so far, yet im glad not to have burned through girlfriends or churned through turnover of girlfriends from failed mutual interests, different personalities, etc. So I'm thinking arguing is like one of my least desired things 😉

[sheikalana]

Yes, talking is always the best option. Taking some time apart as in a few hours after a conflict is also a good way to re-group your thoughts and evaluate the situation. However, people should be mindful and not start an argument over every little thing.

[MrDaveAPSI]

Arguing can be a bad relationship. You shouldn't have to argue. You can debate but when it's arguing that's a sign of something bad

Generally, the diff. between the two is that you're presenting FACTS, and you're having a low tone. Not yelling the same thing over and over again, at a high tone

[I_Am_Loner0405]

Depends on those involved. Some people hate arguing. Others thrive off of it. If one thrives off of arguing and the other haters arguing it would just lead to a messy breakup

[TommyMountainFigure]

Arguing can be both positive OR negative at different times.. It depends on the topic and outcome.

More often than not though, I would say thrashing things out fixes far more than it breaks!

[JacobJordan]

Contrary to popular belief arguing is not healthy. Arguing by its very nature is not about conflict resolution. Disagreeing is normal and that can be changed.

[NathanDavis]

it is all about the conciliation...

"What's fair when the hearts and the words don't reach?

[Nikki1989]

Quality relationships never include arguing.

[jahaims]

Argue- give reasons or cite evidence in support of an idea, action, or theory, typically with the aim of persuading others to share one's view.

That is a part of healthy communication

[handsomelad70]

If they're the usual disagreements, they can be cleared up if both sides HONESTLY listen to each other. Constant conflict will strain a relationship, possibly to the breaking point.

[Huntingnfishin]

Of your relationship can't handle an agrument it's not nearly as strong as you think it is

[Wiredone]

Problems shouldn't be argued over. Just sit down and discuss the issues like normal adults. Solutions will hardly ever be found by arguing.

[msc545]

Talking is a good thing and often helps to resolve problems. Arguing is a bad thing and often causes problems.

[Anonymous]

It depends whether they actually talking. I mean if thier motive is ONLY to hurt one another it isn't going to solve anything.

[Jimbo819]

I think it has its place