Validating Men’s Emotions – 6 Simple Ideas for Validating Your Husband’s Emotions

Most people in a close relationship want to feel validated by their partner. However, a lot of us get it wrong in our approach. When you validate someone, you acknowledge their feelings and accept them as valid – no matter whether you agree with them or not. Here are six simple ideas you can use to validate your husband’s emotions in the same way that a professional marriage and family therapist would:

Empathy goes a long way. Even if you don’t agree with what your spouse is saying, empathizing with how they are feeling is an effective strategy. It shows that you care and that you are listening to them genuinely, rather than trying to “fix” the situation or getting defensive. It also helps to “normalize” their feelings by sharing that many other people may experience similar feelings in the same circumstances.

Avoid giving unsolicited advice. This can quickly make the situation about you instead of your significant other, which is not a good idea for a healthy relationship. Instead, offer general forms of validation, such as “it sounds like you’re pretty upset” or “that must have been really disappointing.” Providing this type of validation doesn’t minimize the uniqueness of their feelings and helps to keep the conversation focused on what is important to them. validating men’s emotions