• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

New Clients: +44 (0)845 519 4808

Existing Clients +44 (0)20 3793 2829

Stephen Hedger

Stephen Hedger

Crisis Marriage Coach | Harley Street London

  • Marriage Breakthrough Program
  • About
  • Success Stories
  • FAQ
  • Book Consultations
  • Blog

Negative Pattern Switching

The art of Negative Pattern Switching is a key skill to learn especially if you are in a relationship.

One of the energies that has a profound effect on how we feel is OUR FOCUS, it’s one of the building blocks to building or interrupting a negative behavioural pattern.

Any parent will know that when an upset child is distracted away from their upset they may stop crying. So by helping a crying child to shift their focus to look at a balloon in the sky has the potential to change the child’s emotional energy in the moment.

What people are not seeing is how powerful a persons’ focus on their life is and how with a little know-how a destructive emotional pattern could be changed into a constructive feeling.

Let’s look at a NEGATIVE FOCUS that I might see in a session.

  1. Imagine a person who is so focused on their past pain, they cannot see past it to build a happier future…
  2. What about the person who has deleted everything that is good because they are so focused on looking for what’s wrong it’s all they can now see…
  3. How about the person who is predicting a negative future and actually makes it happen with this focus…

In each one of these examples, the person is entrenched in their focus and that focus is powerful enough to collapse any connection with themselves or relationship growth potential with others.

The key for these people is to help them change the patterns that leads them into their negative focus.

Let look at the first example on that list.

  1. Imagine a person who is so focused on their past, they cannot see past it to build a happier future…

A person who is so married to their past negative experiences because it has caused them pain and suffering will want to hold onto that focus so they can protect themselves from a future of more pain.

They may not want to leave the marriage or want it to end, but by withdrawing to protect themselves they don’t discover the truth about their connection.

The problem is their focus on self-protection also stops them from contributing or investing in their relationship and so the relationship will at some point die if they don’t take action to feed it.

In many cases, the person doesn’t really want the relationship to end, but their need for certainty through keeping the past alive and withdrawing will lead them into the wrong certainty.

As you can see the person is trying to achieve a need of certainty but it won’t happen if the behaviour of holding on to the past remains.

This focus is destructive for that person and the truth they really want to discover.

As you can see the need for certainty done this way is actually creating less certainty and no helpful answers.

So what will create the clarity the person really needs?

The answer is in not letting a persons fear drive their need to gain that critical certainty.

Fighting or running may shift the pain initially, but it won’t present the truth.

The question is this: If I become the very best of me what do I bring out in you?

After all you can’t be more than the best of yourself.

Many people intrenched in negative patterns will probably find this a challenge on their own but it is where the truth sits.

This does take courage to take this step and it’s that lack of courage that stops so many gaining their truth.

You simply cannot control others, only yourself, so your question is “what will the best of me create in you”?

This is why so many people fail in gaining their truth and live the wrong life, the worst of them will always bring out the worst in others.

Plus to make the challenge more challenging positively influencing someone who doesn’t think like you or is driven like you will help people to give up.

The understanding and the thinking needs to change for the couples truth to appear.

The thinking that created the problem is not the thinking that will solve it.

Once the person has the courage to be the best of themselves all they now need is the knowledge of how to apply that to gain their truth.

  • About
  • Latest Posts
Stephen Hedger
Stephen Hedger
About the author:

Harley Street Expert | Founder & High Performance Coach

With two decades of experience helping couples out of crisis, Stephen the founder of The Marriage Breakthrough Program, uses his proven system for rescuing and rebuilding relationships on the edge of divorce. A trusted advisor to CEOs, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders globally, his work blends emotional intelligence with strategic clarity. Known for navigating highly complex relationship challenges, Stephen helps individuals and couples find clarity and direction when everything is at stake.

Find out more >>> The Marriage Breakthrough Program
Stephen Hedger
Latest posts by Stephen Hedger (see all)
  • “Your Partner Is the Problem and Needs to Change” - August 8, 2026
  • 30 Self-Protection Patterns Designed to Destroy Your Marriage - August 4, 2026
  • Case Study: She Was a Trained Counsellor. But Knowing What Was Wrong Wasn’t Saving Their Marriage - July 31, 2026

Category iconDestructive Patterns,  Marriage Coaching

The Marriage Breakthrough

"Follow simple yet powerful steps designed to save and reignite a marriage fast no matter what's happened"
"Claim Your FREE Consultation!"


Or call us now on 0845 519 4808



Recent Posts

  • “Your Partner Is the Problem and Needs to Change”
  • 30 Self-Protection Patterns Designed to Destroy Your Marriage
  • Case Study: She Was a Trained Counsellor. But Knowing What Was Wrong Wasn’t Saving Their Marriage
  • Case Study: She Didn’t Fall Out of Love. She Stopped Recognising Herself.
  • Case Study: They Thought They Were Arguing About the Little Things. They Weren’t.
  • Case Study: Her Husband Was Preparing to Move Out. So She Stopped Waiting for Him to Change.
  • Case Study: He Built a Life for His Family. He Also Taught His Wife How to Live Without Him.
  • Case Study: “We Thought We Had a Communication Problem. We Didn’t.”
  • Case Study: How a Successful Couple Rediscovered Their Marriage After Feeling Like Roommates for Five Years
  • Case Study: She Wanted Every Detail of his Affair.
  • Case Study: How a CEO and His Wife on the Verge of Divorce Found Their Way Back

Over 1300 Relationship Articles



Categories

  • A thought for Sunday (29)
  • Case Studies (16)
  • Communication (71)
  • Destructive Patterns (138)
  • Discussion (2)
  • Infidelity-Affairs (43)
  • Loss of Love (44)
  • Loss of passion (34)
  • Lost Attraction (22)
  • Marriage Coaching (517)
  • Masculine & Feminine (10)
  • Mini Posts (3)
  • Monday Breakthrough (2)
  • Personal Development (106)
  • Rebuilding trust (39)
  • Relationship Stories (25)
  • Retirement Crisis (6)
  • Save Marriage Alone (48)
  • Separation & Divorce (34)
  • Stop & Never – Mini Posts (54)
  • Stuck (9)
  • Testimonials (74)
  • Top 10 Popular Posts (12)
  • Uncategorized (744)

Primary Sidebar

I’m not going to ask you how you “feel", pay me to watch you argue, or try to find the person to blame.

I am looking to discover if the couple can become a team, overcome their problems together and create a dynamic that will create a loving and passionate life together.

My approach is to take you from where you are, to where you want to be… fast!

I can not recommend Stephen highly enough – he not only saved our marriage, but has improved my marriage and myself as a person.

Banker - London

Popular Posts

  • Women are struggling, but men don’t understand why
  • Built an Empire and lost a Family
  • Marriage in Limbo
  • Rebuilding Connection & Trust
  • Divorce Regret
  • Divorce Prevention
  • Resentment Stacking
  • 36 Principles For Success
  • My Wife is Aggressive
  • A Wise Old Man's Decision
  • I was in tears
  • Tourtured by the past

Do You Want
To Save Your Marriage?

Hi, I'm Stephen Hedger. I'm determined to help couples discover what their marriage is capable of with the right information. My only question is, will it be yours?

Learn more

A 30 minute call with Stephen

In a short phone conversation, Stephen was able to quickly get to the heart of what the real issue was in our marriage – and why in almost a year of working on our marriage including 10 weeks of marriage counselling through a relationship therapy organisation, we weren’t really making any progress. I found Stephen to be extremely perceptive, as well as empathetic to our situation, while being able to quickly pinpoint the real sticking point in our marriage.
Many thanks
Olivia

Dear Stephen
Thank you for your time to listen to my experience in my marriage. You gave me encouragement to speak out to my partner in confidence. You made me realise that sometimes the way we make comments on each other can aggravate the situation and make it worse. Your advice made me feel revived.

Kind regards

Chipo

Success Stories

Case Study: She Was a Trained Counsellor. But Knowing What Was Wrong Wasn’t Saving Their Marriage

July 31, 2026 By Stephen Hedger

How Richard and Claire moved from preparing for separation to becoming a team against the pattern damaging their family. Richard and Claire’s names have been changed to protect their privacy. This Case Study at a Glance Clients: Married couple with two children. Claire was a trained counsellor. Starting position: Trust had almost disappeared. They were caught in […]

Case Study: She Didn’t Fall Out of Love. She Stopped Recognising Herself.

July 28, 2026 By Stephen Hedger

The hidden reason behind a six-year affair – and why the affair was never the real problem. Quick Summary Clients: David (53) and Claire (50) Married: 28 years Together since: Their teenage years Children: Two Challenge: Claire had been having an affair for six years. David believed the affair had destroyed their marriage. Claire insisted she still loved her husband […]

Case Study: They Thought They Were Arguing About the Little Things. They Weren’t.

July 25, 2026 By Stephen Hedger

How one couple stopped constant bickering when they discovered the expectations hiding underneath it Names and identifying details have been changed. By the time Mark and Rachel came to see me, they were exhausted with each other. They weren’t having enormous arguments about affairs, money or whether to stay married. They were arguing about the […]

Case Study: Her Husband Was Preparing to Move Out. So She Stopped Waiting for Him to Change.

July 21, 2026 By Stephen Hedger

Can one person begin changing a marriage when their partner is no longer convinced it can be saved? This clients story shows what happened when one woman stopped trying to persuade her husband and began changing the part of the relationship she could influence. Quick Summary ClientsA professional couple, married for approximately seven years. ChallengeHer […]

Case Study: He Built a Life for His Family. He Also Taught His Wife How to Live Without Him.

July 17, 2026 By Stephen Hedger

When James finally made his marriage a priority, Emma had already learned not to rely on him. When James began coming home earlier, he expected Emma to be pleased. Years before, she had repeatedly asked him to spend less time at work. Now he was protecting his evenings, turning down calls and making more time […]

Footer

Expert Help Available Worldwide via Zoom

For assistance from Stephen, contact his team at:

📞 +44 (0)845 519 4808



Harley Street
London
W1G 9PF
United Kingdom



Recent Clients: Scotland, Ireland, Texas, New York, Dubai, Los Angeles, Austrailia, Japan, Germany, France, Ireland, UK, Monaco to name a few.

Stephen Hedger offers married couples in crisis across the globe a comprehensive strategic roadmap to overcome their marriage problems.

Today Stephen works with Celebrities, CEO’s, Lawyers, Bankers, Royalty, Judges, and business owners helping them transform their family and personal relationships with massive breakthroughs, seemingly against all odds.

  • FREE Marriage in Crisis Guide
  • Marriage Breakthrough Program
  • Clients Success Stories
  • Explore 1,300+ FREE life changing articles
  • About Stephen Hedger
  • About Cloe Hedger
  • Jobs
  • Contact

Recent Posts

  • “Your Partner Is the Problem and Needs to Change”
  • 30 Self-Protection Patterns Designed to Destroy Your Marriage
  • Case Study: She Was a Trained Counsellor. But Knowing What Was Wrong Wasn’t Saving Their Marriage
  • Case Study: She Didn’t Fall Out of Love. She Stopped Recognising Herself.
  • Case Study: They Thought They Were Arguing About the Little Things. They Weren’t.

*Disclaimer:
Any testimonials stated on this page or on any pages on the Stephen Hedger Marriage Coach website/s are proof of our success, naturally, results may vary from person to person.

Apply For Help Here Now...

Terms & Privacy Policy      Copyright © 2026 StephenHedger.com. All rights reserved. Company No.08279028    Return to top