How We End Up Allergic to Closeness

Interrupting the cycle of closeness, conflict, and distance in relationships

We enjoy people until we don’t. It’s a common story when you’re vacationing with friends, traveling with your partner, or visiting family.

Conflict is one way we get some distance from people. Have a tiff over X, and then you have a good reason to stomp away or end the trip early. Enough time passes, the intensity goes down, and you can enjoy being together again.

But is there a way to spend time with people outside this cycle of closeness-conflict-distance? How does one manage to pull that off?