How to Rebuild Love When Negativity Has Taken Center Stage

There is an emotional toll to chronic negativity. Constant criticism or defensiveness doesn't just chip away at trust—it creates emotional distance. Partners start protecting themselves rather than reaching for each other, and intimacy suffers. Every couple experiences tension, disagreements, and frustrations, but when negativity becomes the main storyline, love starts to get buried under criticism, defensiveness, and resentments.