Being at odds with someone is never easy, but with some awareness, you can reach understanding in a productive and compassionate manner.

Conflict is rampant in the world today. Whether we’re watching the news, reading social media, or dealing with our own family members and partners in our home space, conflict is on the rise nearly everywhere we look. The combination of safer-at-home orders, the state of the wider world, the economy, and the daily stress of balancing work and home life are all adding to the pressures that we feel in our lives both publicly and privately. If you’ve been feeling a bit more on edge lately, you aren’t alone.

Here’s what experts like, Peter Coleman, director of the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR) at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Executive Director of Columbia University’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity, Dr. Grant Brenner, a well-known psychotherapist and author, Amie Gordon, the Principal Research Scientist at the Emotion, Health and Psychophysiology Lab at the University of California, San Francisco, and Dr. Gregg Henriques, a professor of psychology in the graduate school at James Madison University, all say about how best to resolve conflict in today’s environment.

You can read my story over at Shondaland.