Reflect8 min
The cycle I recognise
Naming the shape of the pattern, in your own words and pace.
You don't need to describe every detail of a relationship to notice a pattern. This reflection is about the shape of the cycle, not a full account of what happened.
Reflection prompts
- What does the 'good' phase of this cycle usually look or feel like?
- What tends to happen just before things turn difficult?
- What does the difficult phase look like for you — distance, criticism, fear, silence, something else?
- What usually brings the 'good' phase back?
- How does hope show up for you during the hard phase?
- What have you told yourself to make sense of the cycle repeating?
If writing this brings up thoughts of harming yourself, or you feel unsafe right now, please see our Self-Harm Support and Crisis Resources pages — support is available.
You might explore these in your own words — there is no right answer, and stopping partway is completely fine.