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Home > Anger Management > Vicious Cycles – Science Finally Proves That They Really Do Exist

Vicious Cycles – Science Finally Proves That They Really Do Exist

Posted on 09.01.15 1 Comment

Vicious Cycle

Have you ever started to have what you thought was going to be a normal conversation with someone only to have it escalate into a red hot argument without even trying?  Do you and your spouse (or teenager or boss or sibling) seem to hit each other’s buttons so that arguments go from zero to 100 mph in 3.5 seconds.  These are the typical vicious circle arguments that we have all experienced at some time in our relationships.

Well, science has finally proven that these vicious cycles really do exist.

Researchers at UCLA recently had  parents have a discussion about a hot-button issue with their teenager. Every few minutes they had all three of them give a saliva sample with a cotton swab.  Then they sent the saliva samples to a lab to measure their stress hormones.

What they found was totally amazing.

When the mother’s stress hormones went up it caused the father’s stress hormones to go up.  When the father’s stress hormones went up it made the teenager’s level go up. Finally, when the teenager’s level went up it made the mother’s level go up even higher.

Mom-Dad-Kid vicious cycle

HAPPY WIFE, HAPPY LIFE!

Husbands and fathers please take note –  this study also proves the old saying, “Happy Wife, Happy Life.”

If your wife is stressed, you will get stressed.  When you get stressed, you are going to stress out your kids.  When your kids get stressed, they are going to get your wife even more stressed.  And so on, and so on, and so on…

 

FURTHER READING

Saxbe, D. E., et al. (2014). “Relative Influences: Patterns of HPA Axis Concordance During Triadic Family Interaction.” Health Psychol 33(3): 273-281.

CategoriesAnger Management Communication Skills Emotional Baggage Marriage and Relationships When Talk Therapy Is Not Enough

David Russell

David Russell

Dr. Dave Russell is a clinical psychologist who specializes in intensive individual and couples therapy using 90-minute and 3-hour sessions – where client’s can achieve up to 3 month’s worth of therapy in each session – to fully resolve emotional baggage, hot buttons and trigger points. He has his doctorate in clinical psychology from Rutgers and did his internship at Yale. Before going into full time practice he was a clinical instructor at Yale and the director of outpatient services at Klingberg Family Centers. His practice MCH/Russell Associates, LLC in West Hartford, CT has clients who come for face-to-face sessions from as far away as New York City and Boston, clients who come for week-long intensives from all over the United States and clients who work via phone or Skype from as far away as Australia, Canada and the UK.

Comments

  1. Mary Ann Gates says

    September 5, 2015 at 9:44 am

    You once mentioned occasional “tune-ups” as a way to keep my mental state in balance, something I’ve thought of doing these past several months but haven’t pushed the on button. This electronic newsletter is a baby aspirin, just the dose I need right now, so thank you for including me in the mailing.
    Mary Ann Gates

    Reply

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