Ten Practices That Will Prevent Stress From Killing Your Relationship

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Find the humor within the chaos

It’s impossible to escape every distressing situation, but you and your partner can make these scenarios less stressful by finding the humor in them, whenever possible, and laughing at yourselves. Laughter helps to take the edge off and can make it easier to cope with challenging situations.

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Pause until you’re calm

When you’re really upset, it’s easy to fly off the handle and say hurtful things that you don’t mean. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to take those words back once you’ve said them and long after you’ve forgotten about what you said, they will continue to haunt the people that you care about. More often than not, we unleash our frustrations on the people who are the closest to us, which in many cases, is our spouse or romantic partner. Try to avoid speaking in anger. If you’re really upset, avoid initiating conversations until you’re calm.

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Know your triggers

We all have those little things that completely set us off, especially when we’re already under immense stress. To avoid taking out your frustrations on your partners, it’s helpful to recognize your triggers. Having a sense of awareness in regard to the things that send you over the edge will reduce the likelihood of you lashing out on your loved ones in anger.

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Do the deed

Not only does sex help to strengthen your marriage and improve the bond, but studies have also found that frequent sex is linked to lower stress response hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. Additionally, sex is believed to improve sleep patterns and promote higher rates of happiness and enhanced brain function.

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Exercise

Like sex, exercise is another form of physical activity that has been linked to lower stress levels. Scientists believe that exercise helps to improve the body’s reaction to stress. Further, it serves as a mood booster.

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Have other sounding boards

To prevent your relationship from being completely saddled down by stress, it can also be helpful to have other people that you can speak to about your problem in addition to your partner. Of course, these people should be trusted companions with whom you are able to share confidential information.

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Adopt coping strategies

It’s helpful to have a toolbox of constructive coping strategies that you can fall back on during periods of difficulty and emotional strain. Utilizing these helpful coping strategies can serve as an outlet for negative emotions and keep them from overwhelming your relationship.

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Commit to problem-solving as a team

Generally speaking, it’s much easier to solve a problem when partners are able to put their heads together and tackle the issue at hand as a team. Unfortunately, couples may sometimes resort to bickering when they’re under immense levels of stress. During these times, remember that your spouse is not the enemy. You are on the same team.

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Communicate

Although this one may sound like a no-brainer, it’s probably the most important step. Oftentimes, we shut down when we’re under pressure and when we do actually communicate, we’re lashing out at the people closest to us.