Every relationship has its challenges. Your relationship conflicts truly take a toll on your physical health and affect your emotional well-being as well. When your partner is going through a stressful situation, it can affect you even if your partner isn’t stressing you out because of it. Relationship stress can take a toll on the strongest of bonds. Stress can create distance, slow understanding, and disconnection in your relationship. When both partners are stressed out, it’s hard for them to be there for each other in their moment of stress because they’re focused on themselves at that moment. Men and women react to stress differently. You have to learn to understand how your partner behaves when they’re stressed and be willing to provide the necessary support. By staying in tune with your partner, you will find opportunities to express your support and care.
Relationship stress is not just caused by external factors. Here are the different causes of stress in a relationship:
1) Poor finances: Struggling to pay the bills or being in a relationship with someone that spends money recklessly causes the other partner to feel stressed.
2) Infidelity: Being married to someone who has cheated on you before can create trust issues. Having to worry if your partner is cheating on you or not is stressful. Infidelity in a marriage can cause lots of argument and causes a strain in the relationship.
3) Illness: Being married to someone who has a terminal illness is depressing because nobody wants to see their loved one in agony. Having a child that is ill is distressing to both parents and that can affect the relationship between the couple.
4) Uncertainty about the future: In the beginning of a relationship, both partners usually have high hopes concerning their partner and the future of the relationship but when red flags start to pop up from different angles after a few months, it makes them concerned about if they can still picture a future with their partner. This situation is stressful because they’re already in love with their significant other but they can’t help but wonder if their partner is still right for them.
5) Lack of effort from one party: When you’re the one putting in all the work and making all the plans in your relationship while your partner stays aloof, it can cause constant disagreement and can make you worried all the time if he/she still wants to be with you. Being worried about these will eventually stress you out.
6) Workplace stress: When your partner’s job is stressful, it may affect the way they behave towards you and how they function in the relationship. They might also be busy most of the time and having to deal with that will stress you out.
7) Family issues: If you’re in a relationship with someone that is dealing with family issues like their parent’s illness or financial instability, it can cause your partner to become depressed and your relationship will probably undergo stress because of that.
If your partners’ family members dislike you or are toxic to your partner, it will cause a strain in your relationship.
8) Unresolved or ignored issues: Communication is key in a relationship. Ignoring things that are meant to be addressed will cause secret misunderstandings. Unresolved issues will definitely resurface. Letting unresolved issues accumulate will one day cause a huge argument that will take a lot of time and energy to resolve. All these will stress you and your partner and may make both of you feel that the relationship isn’t working anymore.
If you’re dealing with one of these common causes of stress in relationships, know that you’re not alone. Relationship stress is normal. What’s more critical is learning how to handle the stress and the negative emotions that surface due to various circumstances that might eventually cause stress.
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