“Flooding” is the term that Drs. John and Julie Gottman use for diffuse physiological arousal. It’s our bodies’ general alarm response that spells danger, as in “the lion in the jungle” when you encounter it. We go into survival mode with increased heart rate, vasoconstriction, reduced oxygen in the blood that makes it hard to think with a clear mined, and decreased blood supply to the digestive organs, which we can experience as nausea.

When you take part in the Gottman Method of Couples Therapy, your provider will address the concept of perpetual conflict, those conflicts in relationships that never get solved. The “masters” of relationship have learned how to navigate around them, honor their partner for having ideas different from their own, and have even learned to joke about it. The “disasters” of relationship usually become gridlocked, and this can signal the decline of a relationship.

Kari Rusnak, a Gottman Therapist, addresses the role that flooding plays in perpetual conflict. Please read her article here.