I avoid conflict at all costs and it's ruining my life. Here's what happens: [describe situations you avoid confronting, relationships where problems fester, peace you keep that's not real peace, and the explosion or implosion that eventually comes]. Show me the real cost because I think avoiding conflict is safer. Calculate what conflict avoidance actually costs me: relationships (the slow death of unspoken resentments), opportunities (the positions/respect I don't get because I won't advocate), self-respect (each time I swallow my truth), mental health (the anxiety of tiptoeing), physical health (the stress stored in my body), and time (years spent in situations I should have addressed immediately). Then identify my avoidance type: the peacekeeper (needs everyone happy), the accommodator (bends to avoid tension), the ghoster (disappears instead of discussing), the passive-aggressive (expresses conflict sideways), or the absorber (takes all the blame to end it). Decode the origin: what did conflict mean in my childhood? (danger, abandonment, punishment, withdrawal of love?), what's my conflict schema (conflict = catastrophe?), and what am I protecting by avoiding (the relationship, their feelings, my image, or my safety?). Reveal the paradox: by avoiding small conflicts, I guarantee bigger explosions; by keeping false peace, I prevent real peace; by protecting relationships from conflict, I ensure their death. Create the conflict confrontation protocol: the mindset shift (conflict isn't threatening the relationship, avoiding it is), the graduated exposure (start with low-stakes conflicts), the conflict conversation structure (issue → feeling → need → request), the self-soothing for when my nervous system freaks out during confrontation, the response prep for common reactions (dismissal, defensiveness, attack), and the relationship filter (people who can't handle any conflict have to go). Include: the conflict I need to have right now that I'm avoiding, what I'm most afraid will happen if I address it (and the probability it actually will), and who I'd be if I could speak my truth without fear.