What's the best way to argue with friends and family?

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Chronic migraine is 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting 4 hours or more.

SPEAKER_2 (0:04)

Botox, onybotulinum toxin A, prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they start. It's not for those with 14 or fewer headache days a month. It prevents on average 8 to 9 headache days a month versus 6 to 7 for placebo.

SPEAKER_3 (0:17)

Prescription Botox is injected by your doctor. Effects of Botox may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening condition. Patients with these conditions before injection are at highest risk. Side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue, and headache. Allergic reactions can include rash, welts, asthma symptoms, and dizziness. Don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, including ALS Lou Gehrig's disease, myasthenia gravis or Lambert-Eaton syndrome, and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects.

SPEAKER_1 (0:54)

Why wait? Ask your doctor. Visit botoxchronicmigraine.com or call 1-800-44-BOTOX to learn more.

SPEAKER_4 (1:04)

What's the best way to argue with friends and family?

Thanks for asking.

Whether it starts over a sock left on the floor or a political debate that erupts a little too early at the holiday table, conflict is a part of life. It's not that we argue all the time. It's that these moments can stick with us. Sometimes, they clear the air and help us grow. Sometimes, they shut us down and leave resentment simmering for years. So it's worth knowing how to argue well.

What actually makes something an argument? For starters, we don't really argue with strangers. Sure, voices can rise in traffic, but those clashes are more like letting off steam, lots of grumbling, zero emotional stakes. A genuine argument involves feelings. When there's love, inner friendship, family or romantic relationship, there are bonds, expectations and vulnerability.

Psychiatrist Christophe André describes it this way. In an argument, we stop listening and focus on unloading our frustration and pointing out the other person's faults. In a simple discussion, we want to be right without doing damage. In a true dialogue, we listen because we're trying to reach an understanding or compromise. An argument, he says, is just a conflict that slipped out of control. And while dialogue is ideal, real life means that emotions sometimes take the wheel. Do we really need to tell our loved ones everything?

Not always. Being sincere isn't the same as saying every thought out loud. Our emotions are often raw, shifting or distorted by stress and fatigue. Telling the truth is important, but dumping unfiltered feelings onto someone else is more about venting than sharing. That's why some things should be expressed thoughtfully. Boundaries, hurt feelings, misunderstandings and assumptions about shared values. Those help preserve the relationship rather than burdening it.

Therapists Nicole and Bernard Priot, authors of Arguing Well, describe conflict as a four-step dance. Incubation, explosion, unraveling and resolution. And that last stage matters most. Once the storm passes, we can finally name the deeper issue that was present from the start but couldn't be voiced in the heat of the moment. Can arguing be a sign of love? In a way, yes. Speaking up about what hurts can show investment and care. It means people want the relationship to work. But there's no need to romanticise conflict. Arguing often proves nothing on its own. What matters is how we argue. Do we listen? Do we apologise? Do we show respect? Disagreement should never justify verbal or physical abuse, humiliation or contempt. There you have it.

Now you know the best way to argue with friends and family. In under three minutes, we answer your questions and help you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines. Listen along and you really will know for sure.