How to Stop Being So Defensive During Arguments

—Photo-Illustration by TIME (Source Image: years/Getty Images)

Here's a reliable way to tell that an argument has gone sideways: You started out discussing who was supposed to load the dishwasher, and you're now somewhere in the vicinity of a canceled dinner in 2019, your mother-in-law, or whether anyone in this household appreciates anyone else.

"It's like, ‘Wait, how did we get here?’" says Jessica Harrison, a couples counselor in Rhode Island. "That's a sign that somebody somewhere is being defensive."

It can be difficult to recognize when you’re being defensive, because it rarely feels that way. It feels like accuracy—like you’re finally setting the record straight. Meanwhile, the actual problem—the one somebody worked up the nerve to raise—never gets solved. It’s now buried underneath four brand-new ones. As Harrison puts it: “Who can manage and conclude five arguments in one conversation?”

The instinct to defend yourself isn’t a character flaw. It’s a protective reflex that can kick in when something threatens your sense of who you are. “We have the fight-or-flight response to protect ourselves from physical danger,” says Eli Kraiem, a clinical psychologist in New York who specializes in couples therapy. “But there’s also that same component to protecting our ego or our sense of self, which not everyone is as aware of.” In other words, a relatively ordinary complaint can feel like a verdict on who you are—especially when it comes from someone you care about. The alarm sounds, and suddenly you’re presenting Exhibit A for why you are, in fact, an excellent partner who does plenty around here, thank you very much.

That protective instinct isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes you need to set a boundary or protect yourself, says Dr. Jeff Katzman, a psychiatrist at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Conn. But when defensiveness becomes your default response during ordinary disagreements, it can take a toll over months and years. Partners drift apart while ostensibly discussing chores. Friends stop bringing things up. “Whenever we become defensive, we start to become more certain about our perspective, and we go to battle in some way,” Katzman says. “The more defensive we become, the lonelier we become.”

The goal isn’t to eliminate defensiveness entirely. It’s to recognize it sooner, respond more thoughtfully, and know how to repair the conversation when you slip up. Here’s what experts recommend.

Learn your body's tell

Defensiveness often starts in your body before you even utter a word. Reuven Rosen, a couples therapist in Columbia, Md., asks clients: “What happened in your body the moment your partner said that?”

The answers tend to be specific and physical. “There's going to be a knot in my throat, there's going to be maybe a tightness in my stomach, a tightness in my chest, maybe my heart's beating,” he says.

These sensations are easy to overlook, but they can serve as early warning signs that you’re about to interrupt, deny, or fire back. When you notice your heart racing or your chest tightening, pause and ask yourself why you’re having such a strong reaction. That brief check-in can give you a chance to choose what to say next—instead of automatically going on the defensive.

Ask what you're trying to protect

Once you notice yourself becoming defensive, reflect on this: “What am I actually trying to protect?” It’s probably not the specific point you’re arguing about. More often, it’s something personal—your belief that you’re a good partner, a dependable friend, or a competent employee.

“When we're being defensive, we're ultimately trying to protect something, whether it's a value, a moral, our character, or our confidence in being able to do something,” Harrison says.

Figuring out what feels threatened can quickly change the conversation. A request for more help around the house might come across like this: “You think I’m a bad partner.” But that’s not necessarily what the other person said—or meant. They might simply be asking you to take on more around the house.

Harrison suggests asking yourself: “Am I protecting my character or my values right now, or am I actually listening to what this person is telling me?”

Sometimes, you become defensive precisely because being a good partner—or friend or employee—matters so much to you. “It's a sign that they care so much that they're terrified of getting it wrong,” Harrison says.

Trade certainty for curiosity

Defensiveness has a way of making you feel absolutely certain: You’re right, they’re wrong, and if you could just explain yourself clearly enough, they would finally see it. But the harder you work to prove your point, the less attention you’re paying to theirs.

Katzman, who has spent decades in improvisational theater alongside his clinical work, suggests doing the opposite. “The way out is not to think faster,” he says. “It's really to become curious sooner.”

Improv offers a surprisingly useful model. Onstage, “blocking” means rejecting the premise your scene partner has introduced. If they announce that it’s raining and you insist that it isn’t, the scene has nowhere to go. “When we block each other, that's what defensiveness really does,” Katzman says. “I'm negating your reality, you're negating mine.”

The alternative is the improv principle of “yes, and.” In an argument, that might mean acknowledging the other person’s experience before adding your own perspective. Another improv rule applies, too: “Make your partner look good,” Katzman says.

That doesn’t mean agreeing with everything the other person says. It means remembering that you’re on the same team. “We're after understanding, not winning,” Katzman says. “The goal is to move from being certain to being curious.”

Look for the 2% truth

Even criticism that feels unfair, exaggerated, or badly timed often contains a sliver of truth. Kraiem calls it the “2% truth.” Finding that 2% can be difficult—especially when you’re busy cataloging the other 98%...

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