---
name: reconnection-after-conflict
description: |
  Provides post-conflict repair sequences with conversation timing guidance, trust rebuilding steps, and incremental reconnection strategies. Produces structured reconnection plans with specific scripts for re-engagement after arguments or periods of distance.
  Use when the user wants to reconnect after a fight, rebuild after a period of emotional distance, or repair a relationship after a significant disagreement.
  Do NOT use for reconciliation after separation, assessing whether to continue a relationship, or replacing couples therapy.
license: Apache-2.0
metadata:
  author: foundry-skills
  version: "1.0.0"
  tags: "relationships planning guide"
  category: "family-relationships"
  subcategory: "relationships-communication"
  depends: ""
  disclaimer: "none"
  difficulty: "intermediate"
---
# Reconnection After Conflict

Conflict creates neurobiological distance before it creates relational distance -- when the amygdala floods the body with stress hormones, the capacity for empathic connection is temporarily offline. The quality of repair that follows conflict is one of the strongest predictors of long-term relationship health. Research from the Gottman Institute and attachment-focused therapists consistently shows that it is not the absence of conflict but the presence of effective repair attempts that distinguishes stable, satisfying relationships from deteriorating ones. This skill provides the structure for moving from neurobiological shutdown and emotional distance back to genuine connection -- with specific timing frameworks, sequenced conversation scripts, and trust-rebuilding pathways calibrated to the type and severity of the conflict.

For recurring conflict patterns that resist repair, underlying attachment injuries, or dynamics involving chronic emotional unavailability, a licensed therapist (particularly one trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy, or EFT) is the appropriate next step.

---

## When to Use

**Use this skill when:**
- A user has had a specific, identifiable argument and wants to re-establish emotional connection with the other person
- A user describes a "cold house" or "walking on eggshells" dynamic that has persisted for days after a fight
- A user is emotionally ready to reconnect but does not know how to initiate without re-igniting the conflict
- A user wants to know WHEN to reach out -- they are unsure whether it is too soon or whether they have waited too long
- A user wants scripts or language -- they know they want to reconnect but do not know what to say
- A user describes a pattern of disconnection after conflict and wants to interrupt that pattern with a structured approach
- A user wants to rebuild trust incrementally after a breach that fell short of a relationship-ending event (broken promise, harsh words, emotional withdrawal)
- A user is the one who was hurt and wants guidance on whether and how to receive a repair attempt from the other person

**Do NOT use when:**
- The user is evaluating whether to continue the relationship at all -- use a decision-support framework instead, or recommend a therapist
- The user describes patterns of emotional, physical, or verbal abuse -- safety resources are the appropriate response, not reconnection scripts
- The user is navigating a post-breakup reconciliation -- that is a categorically different process involving a different set of stakes and dynamics
- The underlying issue that caused the conflict has not been identified and the user wants to resolve it first -- use `conflict-resolution` or `difficult-conversation-prep` first, then return here
- The user is asking about a formal apology for a specific harm -- use `apology-repair` to structure the apology, then use this skill for the broader reconnection sequence
- The user describes the conflict as part of an ongoing cycle of rupture-and-repair with no underlying change -- that pattern requires therapeutic intervention to address the cycle itself
- The user wants to reconnect after a long estrangement (months or years) rather than a recent conflict -- the process for long-term estrangement differs substantially in scope and emotional complexity

---

## Process

### Step 1: Assess the Conflict and Current State

Before providing any reconnection guidance, gather enough information to calibrate the response. The variables that matter most are severity, elapsed time, current temperature, and issue resolution status.

- **Ask about the conflict type:** Money, parenting, in-laws, sex/intimacy, division of labor, and major life decisions each carry different emotional weight and different likelihood of underlying recurring patterns. An argument about dishes is different from an argument about whether to have children.
- **Establish elapsed time precisely:** Hours, days, or weeks. Time determines which phase of the neurobiological stress response both people are likely in and which timing framework to apply.
- **Assess the current temperature:** Four categories are useful: (1) Total silence / not in the same room; (2) Functional minimum -- basic logistics only, no emotional exchange; (3) Surface normal -- acting fine but both know things are not fine; (4) One person has already made a bid and it was rebuffed.
- **Determine issue resolution status:** Resolved, unresolved, or paused. Reconnection can happen at any of these stages, but the script changes substantially. Reconnecting before resolution requires explicitly separating the emotional reconnection from the issue resolution and scheduling the latter.
- **Identify who typically initiates repair:** If the same person always initiates, name this dynamic explicitly -- it creates an asymmetry that erodes over time and needs to be acknowledged even within the reconnection plan.
- **Screen for severity flags:** Harsh words that crossed a line (contempt, name-calling, threatening language), public humiliation, a third party involved in the conflict, or a breach of a previous agreement all elevate severity and require additional steps.

### Step 2: Apply the Timing Framework

Timing is not intuitive -- both too-soon and too-late reconnection attempts fail. Use the following evidence-informed thresholds:

- **Minimum cool-down before initiating any reconnection attempt:**
  - Minor argument (low emotional heat, resolved in principle): 20-60 minutes. Wait until physiological arousal (heart rate, muscle tension) has returned to baseline.
  - Moderate conflict (raised voices, one or both people upset, issue unresolved): 2-8 hours. The 20-minute rule is insufficient for moderate conflicts -- the body needs more time to clear cortisol.
  - Major conflict (significant emotional activation, things said that cannot be unsaid, issue is serious): 24-48 hours minimum. Both people need independent processing time before repair conversation is productive.
- **Maximum productive distance before reaching out:**
  - For most partner conflicts: 48-72 hours. After 72 hours, silence begins to calcify into a pattern. The distance stops being "processing time" and starts being the new relational normal.
  - For parent-adult child or close friend conflicts: 3-5 days. The dynamics are less immediate but the calcification risk is similar.
  - Critical threshold: If silence has lasted more than 7 days without any contact, a direct verbal repair attempt may feel too intense. Written communication (a letter, a card, a substantive text message) may be the better entry point.
- **The "flooded partner" problem:** If one person has re-regulated (calm, ready to reconnect) before the other, the regulated person should not pressure the other to be ready. The right move is a single low-pressure bid: "I'm ready to talk when you are. No rush." Then wait without pursuing.
- **Avoid timing traps:** Do not initiate at bedtime (conflict reignites without ability to de-escalate and separate), right before a significant event (work presentation, family gathering), or when one person is hungry, tired, or already stressed.

### Step 3: Design the Five-Phase Reconnection Sequence

The reconnection sequence is not a single conversation -- it is a structured progression that separates emotional reconnection from issue resolution. Attempting to do both simultaneously usually derails both.

**Phase 1 -- The Reach Out (Bid for Connection)**
- The purpose is not to discuss the conflict. It is to signal: "I want to be connected to you. The distance is not what I want."
- The bid should be brief, specific, non-pressuring, and contain no demands for immediate response.
- Format: one sentence of care + one sentence of intent. Example: "I miss you. I'd like to talk tonight when you're ready."
- Delivery method matters: Text is lower pressure than phone call; phone call is lower pressure than face-to-face; face-to-face is most powerful but highest risk of re-ignition if timed poorly.
- Do not front-load the bid with the issue: "We need to talk about the money thing" is an issue-reopener, not a bid for connection.

**Phase 2 -- The Acknowledgment**
- Name what happened without relitigating it. This is not the place to present your case again or add new grievances.
- Acknowledge the experience of the conflict itself: "The fight we had was hard. I don't want to pretend it didn't happen."
- One sentence is sufficient at this phase. The goal is to confirm shared reality without triggering defensive escalation.
- What to avoid: revisiting who was right, adding "but" statements, minimizing the conflict ("it wasn't that big a deal"), or catastrophizing it.

**Phase 3 -- The Validation**
- Validation means acknowledging that the other person's emotional experience was real and understandable -- even if you do not agree with their position.
- The structure: "I can see why you felt [emotion] when [thing happened]." This requires genuine engagement with their perspective, not strategic performance.
- If you genuinely do not understand their experience, lead with curiosity: "I want to understand how you experienced this. Can you help me see it from where you were standing?"
- Validation is not agreement. You can validate someone's anger while still disagreeing with the conclusion they drew from it. Keep these separate.
- Common failure: offering validation while adding a qualification ("I can see why you were upset, but you have to admit..."). This invalidates the validation.

**Phase 4 -- The Repair**
- This phase has two possible tracks depending on issue status:
  - If the issue was resolved during or after the conflict: Acknowledge the resolution and confirm shared understanding: "I think we figured out the money situation. I want to make sure we're on the same page about what we agreed."
  - If the issue is still unresolved: Separate the emotional reconnection from the issue resolution explicitly. "I don't think we've solved [issue] yet, and I want to. But right now I care more about us being okay than about being right about [issue]. Can we set a time this weekend to actually work through it?"
- A repair attempt that also demands immediate resolution of the underlying issue often fails. The other person experiences it as conditional reconnection: "I'll reconnect with you once you agree with me." Unconditional emotional reconnection -- with a scheduled plan to address the issue -- is far more effective.
- If something harmful was said during the conflict (contempt, name-calling, a specific cutting remark), this phase must include a specific acknowledgment and apology for that harm. Reconnecting over the top of an unaddressed wound does not close the wound -- it buries it.

**Phase 5 -- The Reconnect**
- After the repair conversation, do something together that has no connection to the conflict. The purpose is to rebuild the positive experience bank and to re-establish the physical and emotional proximity that conflict disrupts.
- Activities should be shared, low-stakes, and familiar: cooking a meal, watching a show you both like, a walk, physical closeness on the couch. The activity is a vehicle for proximity -- it does not need to be special.
- Do not use Phase 5 as an opportunity to circle back to the conflict. If the issue resurfaces, table it: "We said we'd talk about that this weekend. Tonight I just want to be with you."
- One Phase 5 interaction is usually insufficient after a significant conflict. Plan 3-5 days of deliberate small connection moments before the relational temperature fully normalizes.

### Step 4: Calibrate Scripts to the Specific Relationship Type

The reconnection sequence is the same across relationship types, but the language and expectations differ substantially:

**Partner/Spouse conflicts:**
- The highest intimacy context means the highest stakes. Reconnection requires genuine vulnerability, not performance.
- Physical touch is often the most powerful Phase 5 tool -- not sexual, but a hand on the back, sitting close, initiating a hug.
- If the conflict touched a recurring theme (the same fight you have every few months), acknowledge that in Phase 4: "I know we've been here before. I want to actually figure this out this time, not just smooth it over."

**Parent-Adult Child conflicts:**
- Power dynamics from childhood are activated in these conflicts even when both people are adults. The adult child often feels the old experience of powerlessness; the parent often feels rejection or disrespect.
- Reconnection here often requires accepting a partial resolution. Full resolution -- "we now agree" -- may not be realistic when the conflict involves fundamental values.
- The goal shifts: from resolution to restoration of basic warmth and functionality. "I don't want this between us" is a sufficient Phase 2 acknowledgment.
- Parents who initiated the conflict may have difficulty making the first bid. Adult children who value the relationship often need to model the repair.

**Close Friendships:**
- Friendships lack the institutional structure (living together, shared finances, co-parenting) that keeps partners in contact during distance. Silence is easier to sustain and harder to break.
- The window before silence calcifies is shorter for friendships than for partner relationships -- 5-7 days without contact risks the conflict becoming permanent by default.
- Low-pressure written bids (a voice note, a substantive text) work well with friends because they remove the face-to-face pressure while still communicating genuine care.

**Sibling Conflicts:**
- Family systems often triangulate -- parents, other siblings, or shared history become part of the conflict dynamics.
- Reconnection with siblings often requires explicitly agreeing not to loop in other family members: "I'd rather we figure this out between us before it becomes a family thing."

### Step 5: Build the Trust Rebuilding Framework for Significant Breaches

For conflicts that involved a trust breach (broken promise, significant deception, contemptuous behavior, a boundary violation), reconnection is Phase 1 of trust rebuilding -- not the end point.

- **Trust rebuilds through consistency, not intensity.** A single grand gesture does not rebuild trust. Reliable, small, predictable behavior over time does. This is counterintuitive -- the impulse after a significant breach is to do something big. Resist it.
- **Transparency about what is changing:** Trust-breaking behavior creates uncertainty about future behavior. The person who breached trust needs to articulate specifically what they are doing differently, not just promise to "do better."
- **Patience with the other person's timeline:** The person who was hurt will likely be "better" and then have a setback -- something will trigger the memory of the breach and they will re-experience some of the original hurt. This is not regression. It is normal healing. Name this in advance: "I know I might seem fine and then have a hard day about this. That doesn't mean I'm not healing."
- **Check-ins without pressure:** The person who breached trust should not ask "are we okay?" repeatedly -- this offloads the emotional labor of repair onto the person who was hurt. Instead: "I wanted to check in and see how you're feeling. No expectation of any particular answer." Then accept whatever answer is given without defending.
- **Calibrate the rebuilding timeline:** Minor trust breaches (a broken small promise, a harsh word) may resolve in days to weeks. Moderate breaches (repeated behavior despite promises to change, a betrayal of confidence) take weeks to months. Significant breaches require a separate framework entirely and are often best navigated with professional support.

### Step 6: Identify and Address Systemic Reconnection Patterns

Some users present not just with a specific conflict but with a recurring pattern: the same fight, the same distance, the same labored reconnection, followed by temporary peace, then cycle repeat. These patterns require naming.

- **The over-functioning / under-functioning repair dynamic:** One person always initiates repair while the other waits. This creates a covert resentment in the initiator and an avoidance reinforcement in the waiter. Name this explicitly and build a plan for the non-initiator to practice initiating.
- **The "amnesia" reconnection pattern:** Both people reconnect as though the conflict did not happen, restoring surface warmth without ever addressing Phase 3 (validation) or Phase 4 (repair). This is functional in the short term and corrosive in the long term. The underlying issue accumulates.
- **The premature resolution:** One person reconnects and treats the reconnection as evidence that the problem is solved. The other person interprets this as avoidance. Make explicit that reconnection and resolution are sequential, not simultaneous.
- **If this pattern is identified:** Note it, provide the immediate reconnection plan, and explicitly recommend that the recurring cycle become the focus of a longer-term conversation -- ideally with support.

### Step 7: Deliver the Reconnection Plan

Structure the output as a complete reconnection plan with: assessment summary, timing guidance, the five-phase sequence with specific adapted scripts, trust rebuilding actions if needed, and a check-in framework. Calibrate depth to severity -- a minor argument needs 60% of this framework; a major breach needs all of it and possibly more.

---

## Output Format

```
## Reconnection Plan: [Relationship Type] After [Conflict Type]

### Current State Assessment
| Variable | Assessment |
|----------|------------|
| Conflict type | [Specific topic of conflict] |
| Severity level | [Minor / Moderate / Significant / Severe] |
| Time since conflict | [Hours / Days] |
| Current temperature | [Silence / Functional minimum / Surface normal / Rebuffed bid] |
| Issue resolution status | [Resolved / Unresolved / Paused] |
| Underlying recurring theme | [Yes -- describe / No] |
| Specific harms to address | [Harsh words, contempt, broken promise, etc. / None identified] |
| Repair initiator pattern | [Balanced / One person consistently initiates] |

---

### Timing Guidance
- **Your timing now:** [Assessment of whether this is too soon, right on time, or overdue]
- **Recommended window to reach out:** [Specific -- tonight, within 24 hours, etc.]
- **Risk of waiting:** [What happens if the current distance continues]
- **Delivery method:** [Text / Call / Face-to-face / Written note -- with rationale]

---

### Five-Phase Reconnection Sequence

**Phase 1 -- Reach Out**
*Purpose:* Signal desire for connection. Not a conversation starter -- a bid.
*When:* [Specific timing guidance]
*How to deliver:* [Text / In person / etc.]

> "[Adapted script for their specific situation]"

*If no response within [timeframe]:* [Guidance on whether and how to follow up]

---

**Phase 2 -- Acknowledgment**
*Purpose:* Name what happened without relitigating it.
*When:* At the start of the reconnection conversation.

> "[Adapted script]"

*What NOT to say:*
- [Specific thing to avoid for this conflict type]
- [Specific thing to avoid for this conflict type]

---

**Phase 3 -- Validation**
*Purpose:* Acknowledge their experience as real and understandable, even where you disagree.

> "[Adapted validation script]"

*If you don't fully understand their perspective yet:*
> "[Curiosity-led alternative script]"

---

**Phase 4 -- Repair**
*Purpose:* [Resolve confirmation / Issue separation with scheduled resolution / Specific harm acknowledgment]

**Track A -- If issue was resolved:**
> "[Confirmation script]"

**Track B -- If issue is still unresolved:**
> "[Separation script with explicit scheduling of resolution conversation]"

**Track C -- If specific harm was caused (harsh words, contempt, etc.):**
> "[Specific acknowledgment of harm -- separate from and prior to general repair]"

---

**Phase 5 -- Reconnect**
*Purpose:* Rebuild positive experience bank. Not about the conflict.

Suggested activities for tonight or tomorrow:
- [Specific activity 1 calibrated to this relationship]
- [Specific activity 2]
- [Specific activity 3]

*Ongoing:* Plan [3-5] small connection moments over the next [timeframe]. The temperature lifts gradually, not all at once.

---

### Trust Rebuilding Actions *(include only if breach involved)*
| Action | Timeline | What It Demonstrates | Watch Out For |
|--------|----------|---------------------|---------------|
| [Specific action] | [When] | [Why this action matters] | [What undermines it] |
| [Specific action] | [When] | [Why this action matters] | [What undermines it] |
| [Specific action] | [When] | [Why this action matters] | [What undermines it] |

---

### Reconnection Check-In
*When:* [3-5 days / 1 week after initial reconnection]
*Purpose:* Ensure reconnection is genuine, not surface-level

> "[Check-in script that does not reopen the conflict or demand an 'all clear']"

---

### Pattern Note *(include only if recurring cycle identified)*
[Description of the pattern, why it matters, and a specific recommendation for addressing it beyond this immediate reconnection]

---

### If Reconnection Is Resisted
If your bid is met with continued silence or rejection after [timeframe], consider:
- [Specific next step 1]
- [Specific next step 2]
- [When to involve professional support]
```

---

## Rules

1. **Never conflate emotional reconnection with issue resolution.** These are sequential processes. Treating them as simultaneous causes both to fail. The reconnection plan must explicitly separate Phase 4 (repair) from the scheduled resolution of the underlying issue. Scheduling the issue conversation is itself a trust-building act.

2. **Physiological cool-down is not optional -- it is neurological.** When someone is flooded (heart rate above approximately 100 bpm, feeling of threat or contempt), their prefrontal cortex -- the part of the brain needed for empathy, nuance, and listening -- is functionally offline. Reconnection attempts made before the nervous system has re-regulated will fail regardless of how well the scripts are written. Do not rush the timing.

3. **The initiator of repair is demonstrating relational maturity, not weakness.** Never frame reaching out as "giving in" or "losing." If the user is worried about this, name it directly: "Reaching out first does not mean you were wrong. It means you value the relationship more than the standoff."

4. **Validation must precede repair.** Skipping Phase 3 (validation) and moving directly to Phase 4 (repair/resolution) is the most common reconnection failure pattern. Without feeling understood, the other person is not emotionally available for repair. The sequence is non-negotiable.

5. **Scripts must be genuine, not strategic.** The scripts provided are templates, not formulas. Instruct the user to adapt them to their real voice. A perfect script delivered in a flat, scripted tone does more damage than an imperfect script delivered with genuine care. The goal is authenticity within a helpful structure.

6. **Identify and name the specific harm separately from the general repair.** If contempt, name-calling, or a specific cutting remark occurred, it requires its own explicit acknowledgment -- not as part of the general "our fight was hard" acknowledgment. "When I said [specific thing], that was wrong and it wasn't fair to you" is categorically different from "we both said things." Burying specific harms inside general acknowledgments invalidates them.

7. **Do not design plans around waiting for the other person to be ready.** One party being ready does not obligate the other to be ready simultaneously. The plan should include a single clear bid and then patient waiting -- not pursuit, not repeated attempts in quick succession, not checking in every few hours. One bid, clear and honest, then space.

8. **Phase 5 must be explicitly NOT about the conflict.** If the reconnection activity doubles as an opportunity to continue processing -- a walk where the argument resumes, a dinner that becomes a negotiation -- it is not Phase 5. Build in a specific agreement: "Tonight is just about being together. If the [issue] comes up, can we agree to table it until Saturday?"

9. **Name repair imbalance when it exists.** If the user reveals (or it becomes apparent) that they are always the one who initiates repair, do not ignore this. It is a structural problem in the relationship's repair system. Acknowledging it within the plan -- and suggesting a gentle conversation about it at a neutral time -- is better than producing another plan that reinforces the same asymmetry.

10. **Grand gestures are not substitutes for consistent behavior.** After significant conflicts, users often want to "do something" -- buy flowers, plan a trip, make a dramatic statement. Redirect this impulse. Grand gestures can be useful as symbols but they do not substitute for the daily small acts of warmth, reliability, and attentiveness that actually rebuild trust. The trust rebuilding table should include small, consistent, replicable actions -- not one-time performances.

11. **If a bid is rebuffed, give it 48 hours before trying again.** One unsuccessful bid is not a rejection of the relationship. It is a signal that the other person needs more time. A second bid before 48 hours have passed reads as pressure, which increases the other person's defenses. After 48 hours, one more written bid is appropriate: low-pressure, no demand for response. After two unanswered written bids across 4-7 days, the situation may require professional support to move forward.

12. **Reconnection does not eliminate the memory of the conflict.** Set the user's expectations accurately. After a significant fight, both people will likely feel the residue for days. Small triggers (the topic coming up tangentially, a tone of voice that resembles the fight) may briefly reactivate the emotion. This is normal and does not mean the reconnection failed. It means healing takes longer than a single conversation.

---

## Edge Cases

### The Conflict Involved a Fundamental Value Difference
When the argument was not about a problem to be solved but about a genuine incompatibility in values -- political beliefs, religious practice, how to raise children, whether to have children, lifestyle choices -- the reconnection script changes because full resolution is not the goal. The goal is restored connection in the presence of difference.

The Phase 4 script shifts to: "I know we see this differently. I don't think either of us is going to change our mind, and I've stopped wanting to convince you. What I want is to still be [close / connected / in a relationship] with you even though we disagree on this. Is that something you want too?"

This requires the user to genuinely mean it. If they are hoping the reconnection will eventually lead the other person to change their position, this is a manipulation, not a repair. Distinguish between accepting difference and tolerating difference while waiting for eventual agreement.

### Someone Said Something Deeply Hurtful During the Fight
Contemptuous language ("you're pathetic," "you're just like your father," "I don't respect you"), threats ("I'm done with this marriage"), or a betrayal of confidence (bringing up a vulnerability that was shared privately) cannot be treated as part of the general conflict. These require standalone acknowledgment.

The sequence is: specific acknowledgment of the harm FIRST (Phase 4, Track C), then the general repair, then Phase 5. Attempting to reconnect before addressing the specific harm leaves the wound unacknowledged. The other person will maintain distance not because they don't want to reconnect but because they are still processing the specific hurt.

Script for the specific acknowledgment: "Before anything else, I need to say something. When I said [exact words], that was wrong. It wasn't fair, it wasn't true, and it wasn't okay. I don't want that to just get folded into 'we had a fight.' I'm specifically sorry for saying that."

Refer to `apology-repair` for the full apology framework if the harm was significant.

### The Silent Treatment Has Been in Effect for More Than a Week
Prolonged silence -- defined as more than 7 days with no meaningful communication -- is qualitatively different from the cool-down distance after a conflict. It has moved from processing into either punishment, shutdown, or entrenched conflict avoidance.

Do not recommend a face-to-face repair attempt as the first move after a week of silence. The entry point should be written -- a letter, a card, or a substantive message. Written communication:
- Removes the immediate pressure to respond in the moment
- Gives the other person time to process before responding
- Allows the writer to say exactly what they mean without the volatility of live conversation

The written bid should be brief (no more than one page / 200-300 words), contain all five phases in condensed form, and explicitly not demand a response timeline: "There is no right time to respond to this. Whenever you're ready, I'm here."

If a written bid goes unacknowledged for more than a week, the situation has moved beyond what this skill addresses. Recommend couples therapy, mediated conversation, or -- in parent/child or sibling contexts -- a trusted family member who can serve as a neutral bridge.

### The Conflict Revealed a Deeper Unmet Need or Ongoing Pattern
Sometimes a specific argument (about dishes, about finances, about a social event) is the surface manifestation of a deeper unmet need: "I don't feel like a priority," "I feel controlled," "I don't feel respected in this household." When this is the case, the reconnection is necessary but not sufficient.

Reconnect first -- genuinely, not strategically. Then, at a neutral time (not during the reconnection conversation, not in the heat of residual emotion), have a separate, structured conversation about the deeper need. Frame it: "The fight about [topic] keeps happening. I think it's really about something bigger for me, and I'd like to talk about that when you have time and space for a real conversation."

Use `difficult-conversation-prep` for the deeper-need conversation. The reconnection plan should explicitly name that the reconnection is not the resolution of the deeper pattern -- and that naming this is itself an act of honesty and respect.

### The User Is the One Who Was Hurt and Is Deciding Whether to Receive the Repair
This skill is most often used by the person initiating repair, but it can also guide the person deciding whether and how to receive one.

Key guidance for the receiver:
- Receiving a repair attempt does not require full forgiveness yet, nor does it signal that everything is fine. It signals willingness to begin the process.
- A script for receiving: "I appreciate you reaching out. I'm not all the way there yet, but I want to be. Give me a little more time and then yes, let's talk."
- If the repair attempt feels insufficient (no acknowledgment of the specific harm, a "non-apology apology"), the receiver can name this without rejecting the repair outright: "I want to reconnect too. I need you to acknowledge [specific thing] first. That's what's making it hard for me to get there."
- The receiver should not use their position to indefinitely withhold reconnection as leverage. Sustained stonewalling damages the relationship in ways that outlast the original conflict.

### Reconnection After Conflict in a Co-Parenting Relationship
When the two people in conflict share children, the dynamics are more complex because co-parenting logistics cannot pause for the conflict. Both people are required to interact daily or near-daily regardless of the emotional temperature.

Separate co-parenting functionality from personal reconnection. The immediate priority is ensuring that co-parenting communication continues to work even before personal reconnection is complete. A brief, explicit agreement helps: "Whatever is happening between us personally, can we agree to keep the kids' stuff normal?"

The reconnection itself then happens on a parallel, slower track. Do not conflate co-parenting logistics with the personal repair -- scheduling pickups is not Phase 5. The relationship reconnection requires separate intentional time that is specifically not about parenting logistics.

### Reconnection Attempt Was Made and Failed
The user reached out, delivered Phase 1, and received either no response or a cold / hostile response. How to proceed:

- **Do not immediately try again.** A second bid within 24 hours reads as pressure and will harden the other person's position.
- **Assess why it may have failed:** Too soon (other person still flooded), wrong delivery method (face-to-face when text would have felt less intense), the bid contained an embedded accusation or criticism, or the conflict is more serious than initially assessed.
- **Wait 48 hours.** Make one more bid, via a different delivery method, with adjusted language. If the first bid was in person, follow up with a written note. If the first bid opened with the issue, the second should lead entirely with care.
- **After two failed bids:** Name the situation clearly and give explicit permission to take more time without pursuing further: "I've reached out twice and I can see you need more time than I've given you. I'm going to step back. I'm here when you're ready."
- **If rejection continues beyond 7-10 days:** The user needs to consider whether professional support (couples therapy, family mediation) is the appropriate next step -- not because the relationship is over, but because reconnection has moved beyond what unstructured self-repair can accomplish.

---

## Example

**Input:** "My husband and I had a really bad fight four days ago about money -- specifically, I found out he had been hiding some credit card debt from me. I was furious and said some harsh things. He shut down completely. We've been civil enough for the kids but there's been no real conversation. I've been thinking about it a lot and I know I want to reconnect, but I also know the trust thing is real -- he hid something significant. I want to start moving toward each other but I don't know how."

---

## Reconnection Plan: Married Partners After Financial Deception Conflict (4 Days)

### Current State Assessment
| Variable | Assessment |
|----------|------------|
| Conflict type | Financial -- discovery of hidden credit card debt |
| Severity level | Significant. Two layers: (1) the financial conflict itself and (2) the concealment, which is a trust breach separate from the money issue. |
| Time since conflict | 4 days |
| Current temperature | Functional minimum -- co-parenting contact only, no emotional exchange |
| Issue resolution status | Unresolved on both layers (the debt and the concealment) |
| Underlying recurring theme | Unknown -- first known instance, but concealment suggests possible pattern |
| Specific harms to address | User reports saying harsh things during the fight that need specific acknowledgment. His concealment of the debt is a trust breach that also needs acknowledgment from him. |
| Repair initiator pattern | User is initiating -- note that this creates an asymmetry given that he is the one who concealed information |

---

### Timing Guidance
- **Your timing now:** Right. Four days for a conflict this significant is not too long -- this falls within the productive window. The nervous systems of both people are past acute activation, and the current functional-minimum state is functional enough to prevent crisis but cold enough that it will calcify if left another 3-4 days.
- **Recommended window to reach out:** Tonight or tomorrow. Do not wait past 48 more hours.
- **Risk of waiting:** At the 7-day mark, the functional-minimum dynamic risks becoming the new relational normal. You would be dealing with two things to repair instead of one: the original conflict and the prolonged distance.
- **Delivery method:** In person, but at a low-pressure moment. Not right after the kids go to bed (both of you will be tired); suggest a brief, quiet moment in the kitchen or a sit-down after the household has settled. Begin with Phase 1 verbally, not via text -- this conflict is too significant and text risks being read as avoidance of the harder conversation.

---

### Five-Phase Reconnection Sequence

**Phase 1 -- Reach Out**
*Purpose:* Signal that you want to reconnect, not that you want to relitigate or that you're ready to forgive everything immediately. Genuine, brief, non-pressuring.
*When:* Tonight, when the kids are settled and there is a quiet moment. Not at bedtime.
*Delivery:* In person. Sit close. Make eye contact. This is not a business negotiation.

> "I don't want to keep doing this. I miss you, and I want us to find our way back. Can we sit down and actually talk -- not about everything, just about us?"

*If he goes quiet or hesitant:* Do not fill the silence immediately. Give him 10-15 seconds. His shutdown pattern is visible -- he needs a moment to shift out of the defensive wall. If he stays quiet past that, add:

> "I'm not asking you to have it all figured out. I'm not either. I just want to start."

*If he says he needs more time:*
> "Okay. I'll follow your lead. I'm here."
Then do not pursue further tonight. Give him 24-36 hours and make a second, low-key bid tomorrow.

---

**Phase 2 -- Acknowledgment**
*Purpose:* Name both layers of what happened without making this the prosecutorial phase. This conversation is about reconnection -- the deeper accountability conversation comes later, separately.

> "What happened four days ago was hard. I know there are two things that happened: you were hiding something from me, and I said some things when I was at my worst. Both of those are real, and I don't want to skip past either of them. But right now I want to start with us -- not with the problem."

*What NOT to say:*
- "You know what you did." (Accusatory opener, will trigger shutdown)
- "I'm trying to forgive you but it's hard." (Keeps the focus on his wrongdoing rather than shared reconnection)
- "I was upset and said things I didn't mean." (Dismisses your harsh words too quickly -- he may need to hear something more specific before this lands)

---

**Phase 3 -- Validation**
*Purpose:* Acknowledge what he was likely experiencing that led to the concealment, and what he is likely experiencing now in the shutdown. This is not excusing it -- it is demonstrating that you understand there was something happening for him, not just a deliberate act of malice.

> "I've been trying to think about what it was like for you, carrying that without telling me. I don't know -- maybe you were scared of exactly what happened. I'm not saying that makes it okay that you hid it. But I want to understand it, not just be hurt by it."

*If he opens up at this point:* Listen without interrupting. Do not correct his account of his experience even if you see it differently. Save your perspective for the subsequent conversation (issue resolution, not this reconnection conversation).

*If he remains closed:* Offer the curiosity alternative:
> "I'd rather you tell me what was going on for you than me guess. When you're ready to talk about that part, I want to listen."

---

**Phase 4 -- Repair**

This conflict has two repair tracks running simultaneously, and they need to be separated explicitly.

**Track A -- Your specific harm (the harsh things you said):**
Before anything about the concealment, acknowledge your own behavior specifically. This is non-negotiable given the severity of the conflict -- and it models the accountability you're going to need from him.

> "Before we get into anything else -- I said some things during that fight that I'm not proud of. [If you can, name the specific words or the specific hurt.] That wasn't okay, even though I was furious. I'm sorry for that specifically."

**Track B -- Issue separation (the concealment and the debt):**
The emotional reconnection is this conversation. The full resolution of the trust breach and the debt itself is a separate, scheduled conversation. Make that explicit.

> "I'm not ready to say the debt and the hiding of it are okay -- and I don't think you'd want me to pretend that. But I also don't want to spend every conversation we have for the next month relitigating this. Can we agree to have a real sit-down conversation about the money and about what happened -- maybe this weekend, when the kids are at [wherever they can be]? Tonight I just want to know we're still us."

*Why this matters:* Separating these conversations gives him something concrete (a specific time the hard conversation will happen), which reduces the anxiety of indefinite unresolved tension. It also signals that you're not going to weaponize the reconnection by using it to avoid accountability -- you're scheduling the accountability, not canceling it.

---

**Phase 5 -- Reconnect**
*Purpose:* Rebuild physical and emotional proximity. Not about the conflict at all.

For tonight, if the conversation went reasonably well:
- Sit together on the couch -- even just to watch something ordinary. Physical proximity without the pressure of continued processing is itself healing.
- If either of you reaches for the other's hand or moves physically closer, let that happen. Don't narrate it.

For the next 4-5 days:
- Have coffee together in the morning before the kids are up -- even 10 minutes
- Cook dinner together one night instead of alongside each other
- Text him something small during the day that has nothing to do with the conflict or the logistics ("thought you'd like this" / a reference to an inside joke / checking in on something he mentioned caring about)

These small moments are the actual trust rebuilding. They are more important than the weekend accountability conversation.

*Explicit agreement to hold:* "Tonight is about us. If the money thing comes back up, can we agree to table it until the weekend? I'll follow that too."

---

### Trust Rebuilding Actions

This conflict involves a genuine trust breach (concealment of financial information). The reconnection conversation is the beginning of rebuilding, not the end. The following actions apply to both of you -- trust rebuilding in this situation is a two-person project.

| Action | Timeline | What It Demonstrates | Watch Out For |
|--------|----------|---------------------|---------------|
| Schedule and keep the dedicated money/accountability conversation | This weekend | Shows that reconnection was not a strategy to avoid accountability | Do not let this meeting get rescheduled twice -- reschedule once maximum |
| He shares the full picture of the finances openly | During weekend conversation | Rebuilds financial transparency; allows you to assess the actual scope of the issue | Do not "check up" on this by going through accounts without discussing it together first -- create a shared transparency agreement instead |
| Agree on a financial transparency practice going forward (shared access, monthly money check-ins) | Within 1 week | Creates a structural accountability system rather than relying on trust alone | If this feels like surveillance, reframe: "This is so neither of us is carrying financial stress alone" |
| He initiates connection at least once per day for the next two weeks | Daily, starting now | Shifts the repair-initiation imbalance -- you reached out first despite being the one who was wronged | He may not be comfortable initiating; a gentle naming of this helps: "Part of how I'll know we're okay is if you reach for me sometimes too" |
| Check-in conversation about how both of you are feeling about the trust | 1-2 weeks post reconnection | Normalizes that healing is ongoing; prevents the "we're fine now" assumption | Do not conflate "I'm feeling better today" with "the trust issue is resolved" |

---

### Reconnection Check-In
*When:* 5 days after the initial reconnection conversation
*Purpose:* Confirm that the surface warmth is reflecting genuine reconnection, and that neither of you has reverted to performing-fine while still feeling the distance.

> "I want to check in -- not about the money stuff, we'll cover that this weekend. Just about us. Are you feeling like we're actually getting closer again, or does it still feel like we're going through the motions? I want to know the real answer."

Prepare for him to say "I don't know" or to deflect. If he does, try: "That's okay. For me, it's [your honest answer]. I just wanted you to know I'm paying attention to us."

---

### Pattern Note
One element worth naming at a low-stakes moment in the coming weeks (not in the reconnection conversation, not in the accountability conversation): the question of why he hid the debt rather than told you.

This is important because concealment of financial information in a marriage often reflects either (a) shame about the debt that felt too large to admit, (b) a fear of your response that felt too big to face, or (c) a pattern of managing difficult things alone rather than as a team. All three are addressable -- but they require a different conversation than the one about the debt itself.

At a future neutral moment, consider: "I've been thinking about why it was hard to tell me. I'm not asking to re-open the fight. I'm asking because I want to understand what would make it easier to come to me with hard things in the future. What would that look like?"

If this dynamic persists or proves difficult to address in conversation, couples therapy -- particularly with an EFT or Gottman-trained therapist -- would be a strong option. Not because the relationship is broken, but because a skilled third party can help both of you understand the communication patterns that led here and build new ones.

---

### If Reconnection Is Resisted
If he does not respond to tonight's bid -- returns to shutdown, leaves the room, says he needs more time:

- Do not pursue further tonight. Respect the stated need for time.
- Wait 36-48 hours. Make one low-pressure written bid: a note, a text, or a short handwritten message. "I meant what I said the other night. I'm here when you're ready. No pressure on timing."
- If after a second bid and 7-10 days he remains in shutdown with no movement, that is a sign that his avoidant response to conflict has calcified into something he cannot exit without support. At that point, suggest couples therapy -- not as an ultimatum but as a genuine resource: "I think we might need someone to help us figure out how to have these conversations. Would you be open to that?"
