“Nagging - the interaction in which one person repeatedly makes a request, the other person repeatedly ignores it and both become increasingly annoyed - is an issue every couple will grapple with at some point. While the word itself can provoke chuckles and eye-rolling, the dynamic can potentially be as dangerous to a marriage as adultery or bad finances. Experts say it is exactly the type of toxic communication that can eventually sink a relationship.” -from a Wall Street Journal article
This article on nagging and the problems it causes in marriage pointed out the vicious cycle we create from badgering. We fear we won’t get what we want from another person so we keep asking. The nagged person gets annoyed and withholds, which causes the nagger to continue. And so it goes!
Nagging is usually considered a female trait but some women would argue that men don’t have to nag because when women are asked to do something, they do it!
In one of our class discussions on couples and communication I heard a lame (but kind of funny) joke called The Nagging Wife and the Drunk Driver. Basically a driver is weaving all over the road and a cop pulls him over. The driver admits to coming from the pub and having quite a few drinks. The officer asks the drunk driver if he realizes that his wife fell out of the car a few intersections back. “Oh, thank heavens,” sigh the drunk. “For a minute there, I thought I’d gone deaf.” :)
