RD&T contributing writer, Andrea Brandt, PHD, MFT, writes about the key to happiness in relationships: empathy.
Everyone has met a couple like this: She loves sushi; the smell of raw fish makes him nauseous. He loves horror films; she finds even mildly scary movies unwatchable. She’s Catholic and regularly attends mass; he’s an atheist.
They are two people who don’t make sense as a couple on paper, but when you see them together in the real world, it’s clear their relationship is a happy one. “How do they do it?” you ask yourself. You imagine they must have some magic, secret relationship sauce only they’ve discovered. After all, you and your partner bicker even when you agree on 99% of things. If only you could have some of the magic that they have. You can.
