In an ideal world, a relationship is not something you should stress about. It is supposed to bring you warm feelings of support, love and happiness. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Each relationship faces its own challenges. As a result, it is normal to feel stressed out, worried or anxious when you spend time with your partner. Even just thinking about them sometimes can evoke these feelings.
What can you do about this to make sure that your relationship is as healthy and happy as possible?
Here are 8 tips to help you reduce stress in your relationship.
1. Show respect
It is important to respect everyone, not only the person you are in a relationship with. Be respectful to your partner even if you feel like they don’t respect you back. Disrespect never builds a relationship but rather causes long-term harm.
2. Listen
Lack of communication can cause unnecessary stress for both partners. If your partner is trying to talk to you about something that you are doing that is bothering them, don’t jump into defense mode. Listen attentively and do things differently to show that you heard them. If you don’t listen to your partner, there is a high probability that they won’t lend you their ear when you need it the most.
3. Commit
You need to commit fully in a relationship. The challenges will always be there but if you are committed to making it work, you will deal with those challenges better.
4. Overlook your partner’s weaknesses
When challenges arise, during stressful times, your relationship may suffer badly. It is best not to put your focus on what your partner lacks or what they are not doing right. Shift your focus toward the qualities that made you fall in love with them.
5. Connect everyday
Pay attention and show affection to your partner. Maintain eye contact and take your partner’s kind words or actions seriously. Spend time together and make time for activities such as walks, vacations or eating out. These give an opportunity to deepen your connection.
6. Take care of yourself
This is very important. You can’t take care of others or your relationship if you are failing to take a good care of yourself. Spend some time alone and do activities that make you happy. Take some of the time that you have been spending with your partner and do things that you are passionate about. Find inspiration outside of a failing relationship. This will help you figure out what is really causing you stress. Your relationship may suffer when you take out your work or family frustrations on your partner and expect them to always understand.
7. Say what’s bothering you
If, for example, your partner never compliments you when you are trying out a new outfit and this makes you feel like your partner does not find you attractive, tell them how you feel so that they know how much their compliments matter to you. There is nothing wrong with being vulnerable with your partner. You will stress unnecessarily if you keep quiet and your partner may not even be aware that they are hurting your feelings.
8. Be consistent and kind
Do something sweet for your partner every day. Many may find this hard to do when they have been with their partners for a long time. You don’t have to buy expensive gifts. For example, kneeling down and tying your partners shoe laces in public is also a sweet thing you can do. If your partner wants more than you can give, don’t keep quiet, tell them. If you don’t, you will always be anxious about whether your partner will appreciate the little things you do for them.
These tips do not guarantee that you will have a perfect relationship – there is no such thing. However, if you want to fight for your relationship think about including some of the activities in your daily life. You will need to work hard and be ready to face challenges if you want your relationship to survive. Hopefully, you can now properly manage the challenges that are causing you stress and anxiety in your relationship.
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You can also read how to be street smart here.
Tell us: Can you think of any other ways to reduce relationship stress?