Why doesn’t he really listen?
The psychologist says… He’s too busy trying to fix the problem.
“There’s a difference between how men and women process stress. In a woman, stress produces a reaction in the emotional center of the brain. Talking stimulates the production of serotonin to relax the brain, so she’ll instinctively talk in order to feel better.
“For a man, stress triggers a reaction in the action center of the brain. So when you talk to him about a problem, he’s so intent on taking action to fix it that there’s no way he can actually hear your point of view. But if you tell him that the solution is just to listen, he can relax. He doesn’t have to hunt for a solution, so he can listen, and maybe even empathize.”
—John Gray, Ph.D., REDBOOK Love Network expert and author of the upcoming Why Mars and Venus Collide
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