We’ve all been there. One moment, everything feels fine. The next, you and your partner are in the same fight you swore you’d never have again, the same type of fight you’ve had a hundred times. It starts small—a tone of voice, a forgotten task, but spirals into something bigger, leaving both of you angry, disconnected, and emotionally drained. This exhausting pattern is known as the conflict cycle.

Ever find yourself replaying a conversation over and over, convinced that you could have said something better or different? Or maybe you’ve spent a whole evening dissecting a future event, playing out worst-case scenarios in your head. This is overthinking. It’s exhausting and can leave you feeling trapped in your own mind.