My Wife Is Putting Me in the Middle of These Conflicts

Hi, Dr. Laura.

Thank you for taking my call.

Can you hear me clearly?

Yes, I can.

Excellent.

How can I help you?

You know, Dr. Laura, I've been listening to you for a while, and, uh, been contemplating calling in, but here we are.

I was looking for some advice on a problem that I'm having, um, with my children's mother, that we're no longer together.

I feel like I'm, uh, caught up in a lot of resentment towards the way she's treated me over the past, you know, six, seven years through the separation.

My daughters are becoming teenagers, and they're fantastic, but I see a lot of their mother in them, in the way they act and the way they speak.

And I can tell that I get triggered really easily when we have conversations with each other.

I know that's probably not right, but basically, I'm asking for advice on how to let go of some of that resentment that I have towards-

I, I don't understand what you're talking about, when they talk to each other.

First of all, you're a grown man.

Control yourself.

I don't want to hear any triggered stuff from a grown man, okay? That's important-

Sure

... that you understand, as a grown man, you have the strength of character to totally control your reactions.

Totally.

And if you choose to control your reactions, it makes you more powerful in your life.

So describe what you see that upsets you.

Let's talk about it as upsetting you.

So what do you see your kids saying or doing that upsets you?

Um, some of the, the, the language they use.

Their mom often calls me difficult.