I see two sides to this question. My first thought of course is we take out our frustrations on the one person we are closest to. I believe this is because the other person doesn’t have an open heart and refuses to look at the problem and just turn their attention and angry onto us. What I have learned this week (which I already knew) is never take on someone else’s issues. Even if the situation is huge!
Let’s say your partner gets drunk and wants to pick a fight. Don’t engage in the conversation and just remove yourself from the room. Who really believes it when someone says “you made me drink because I just can’t deal with you”. I have learned the hard way to stay grounded and believe in my heart and soul this has nothing to do with me. This is called emotional abuse no matter what the situation is. But, if you become angry and defensive just count to ten and just breathe. Who the hell doesn’t want to defend themselves so dig deep because your power is within.
People can be so mean when their life sucks and I’m not just talking about partners. This happens with friends, family, Supervisors and anyone else.