#ambivalence tag

I Really Hoped for a Third Child. Now That It's Happening, I'm Faced With a Difficult Choice.

But now that I'm pregnant, I'm feeling kind of ... ambivalent about it. Not scared or panicked, just not particularly excited. It's still very early weeks, and we live in a Blue state, so my options are open. When I try to envision terminating the pregnancy (envisioning this is something my therapist encouraged me to do), I don't feel relief; I just feel more confused.

Parenting

Mindfulness

fromPsychology Today

2 months ago

Two Truths Can Exist at the Same Time

People commonly hold simultaneous, contradictory emotions; embracing ambivalence requires courage, fluidity, and integration rather than defaulting to binary choices.

Mental health

fromPsychology Today

4 months ago

Misunderstanding Therapy as the Pursuit of Happiness

Therapy aims to integrate thoughts and feelings, helping people tolerate ambivalence and choose tolerable consequences rather than pursuing a simplistic idea of happiness.

Psychology

fromPsychology Today

4 months ago

The Dilemma of the Expat

Voluntary expatriation creates competing commitments—conflicting values like freedom versus security—that produce ambivalence and resistance to change until underlying assumptions are uncovered.

fromSlate Magazine

4 months ago

I Accomplished a Monumental Sexual Feat. Then I Did Something So, So Embarrassing.

I don't know if you can. This was a sincere moment. Your feelings were indicating something that your brain didn't realize. Maybe you weren't really ready for this kind of contact after all that happened. Or maybe part of you was ready for it and another part of you wasn't. Ambivalence is the norm for a lot of situations. Our feelings can conflict and we may not even realize it until they're pouring out of us.

Relationships

Mental health

fromPsychology Today

4 months ago

Are You Terrified of Feeling Confident?

Ambivalence toward confidence causes people to simultaneously pursue and resist confidence, preserving self-doubt through unconscious defenses and biased evaluation of evidence.

Film

fromThe New Yorker

4 months ago

Diane Keaton's Shadows and Light

Diane Keaton's essential goodness and nuanced ambivalence defined her comic charm and sustained a rare, long-lasting female stardom in Hollywood.

Relationships

fromPsychology Today

5 months ago

Why Aren't We Worse Partners and Parents?

Relationship partners often enter counseling with strong ambivalence, and validating their negative horn can prompt recognition of their partner's positive qualities.

Relationships

fromPsychology Today

5 months ago

Adult Siblings Often Struggle to Get Along

Adult sibling relationships can be functional without perfection; they often combine affection, ambivalence, and ambiguity and can be improved through realistic expectations and effort.

Psychology

fromPsychology Today

6 months ago