Catherine Gildiner

Despite the fact that her father had disappeared and had made no contact with his children for four years, she was bonded to him. And in return for her saving the family, he gave her what little love he had. It would be a hard dynamic to disrupt, since people do almost anything for love. Whatever role we are loved for in our family, we will continue to enact it, despite the toll it takes.

Laura had just perfectly defined powerlessness, and powerlessness in a relationship is one of the main causes of stress or anxiety.

He said he was sorry, and then said he wanted to marry me. I told him, ‘Ed, why would I want a husband who lies, cheats, gives people diseases, and whose full-time job is dope dealing? A boyfriend like that was bad enough.’ Am I cleaning house or what? I’m shedding every asshole from my life.” She was proud of herself, and I was proud of her.

“The definition of insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting different results.”

She was still attracted to the bad-boy type, whom she termed “exciting” instead of “psychopathic.”

If you plan on having a life partner, it’s emotional intimacy that will be the glue that holds you together long after the physical intimacy fades.

Anger is not a feeling; it’s a defence.

Even though she’d been fighting for many years, she got up every day determined to better herself.

I think you’re bonded to behaviour like your dad’s.

All the increased blood flow in the world won’t solve an emotional problem. In any sexual response, the mind has to work in conjunction with the body.