DURBAN -The lockdown will either bring couples closer together and make their marriage stronger or it will tear them apart. For many the close-quarters living is undoubtedly causing strain on their relationships.
Here are five tips from relationship experts, on how couples stuck at home during the Coronavirus pandemic can avoid arguments:
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Good Communication
- Make time for each to communicate with each other, either daily or find some time to have good quality interactions on a daily basis or at least check in with each other to see how they are coping with what’s going on in the world.
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Be Kind
- Hold yourself in check. When you feel like shouting or criticising, take a deep breath and a step back. Count your blessings and practice gratitude. Remind yourself that your partner is doing their best amid the chaos, just as you are.
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Maintain contact with the outside world
- Maintaining contact with the outside world, outside of the relationship, supports the relationship because we feel we have got other avenues for support and to bring in information and topics to discuss within the relationship.
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Negotiate your space
- Couples thrive when there’s a healthy balance between time spent together and time spent apart. However, due to the COVID-19 lock down, creating separate spaces is now more difficult than ever. Still, it’s important to physically remove yourself from your partner for an hour or two each day.
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Social media
- While it is important to make time for the outside world, and social media might play a role in this, it is important to keep a balance between social media and making time for your partner. If you feel you are being ignored in favour of social media, try having a conversation with your partner about this and how you feel – they may not have realised.
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