The Friendly Feminist 
Family Psychologist 

Are there people in your life who bring more strain than peace? If you find yourself nodding in agreement, you might just have relationships with people whom recent research has identified as hasslers. According to the study, relationships with hasslers tend to feel hostile, strained, or burdensome. In a relationship like this, you may find yourself wondering if you should keep the status quo, or go "low contact” or “no contact.”

For some people, sexual behaviour can start to feel less like a choice and more like a cycle. In my clinical work, I use sex addiction as an umbrella term for these patterns. While many people engage in sexual behaviours in ways that feel healthy, consensual, and aligned with their values, concerns can arise when the behaviour starts to feel compulsive, secretive, distressing, or begins to create problems in other aspects of one's life.