Title: What to Do When Your Partner Is Overbearing | Our Everyday Life
Headings: What to Do When Your Partner Is Overbearing
What to Do When Your Partner Is Overbearing
Stop Enabling
Assert Yourself
Establish Boundaries
Know When to Seek Help

Content: Stop Enabling
Your overbearing partner is affecting your relationship, but you may need to consider your own behavior and how it may contribute to the problem. It's not about blaming yourself for her need for control but about taking responsibility for your own actions, says psychologist Philip "Dr. Phil" McGraw. Perhaps you put up with her overbearing behavior and stay silent in order to avoid arguments. Think about more productive ways of resolving conflict. Assert Yourself
When dealing with a controlling partner, it's important not to come across as controlling yourself. The key is to be assertive, confident and consistent, advises psychiatrist Judith Orloff. Your partner may thrive on power struggles, so don't give him one. Focus on the important issues that need to be addressed, rather than getting stressed about minor quibbles like whose turn it is to take the trash out. For example, if you are discussing whose family to spend the holidays with, say something like, "I'd really like to spend a few days with my parents, because we haven't seen them for a long time. Perhaps we could stop by your parents' house on the way home?"