We are all striving for a happy, fulfiling, and harmonic relationship. Finding a partner, ho can provide us with what we need is already difficult enough. But once we found one, the journey just starts. Often, somewhere along the journey we lose the harmony once found. We start to fight and develop negative feelings. As a result, we feel stressed. But how can we find the root cause to properly cope with our stress?
Coping with stress in a relationship starts with identifying the 5 signs of relationship stress. From this starting point, we will be able to address our issues and resolve our stress.
This article is part of the series: Coping with Stress in a Relationship. Check out the overview to find more useful advice on relationship stress.
Related:
The 3 Sources of Relationship Stress
Coping with Stress – The Longterm Solution
1. Negative inner dialogue about the relationship
You notice that you focus on the negatives and you find it easy to see bad even in the good things. The moment you are not enjoying your thoughts about the relationship is when you will experience stress.
2. Avoiding the partner
This is either you avoiding your partner or vice versa. If you don’t want to see each other, you clearly have an issue. It is time for coping with stress as this situation will lead you nowhere in the relationship.
3. Feelings of hopelessness, frustration, or anger
Negative feelings in all forms will trigger negative thoughts and negative behavior. You will most likely experience relationship stress when your negative feelings are taking over. Even more so, when your negative feelings will trigger negative behavior which will lead to even more negative thoughts and feelings. A vicious cycle.
4. Remember your best moments in a negative light
Every relationship starts with beautiful situations, sometimes foolish approaches, or romantic events. The moment you start to see these situations in a negative light, you will experience relationship stress. Such thoughts are a very strong sign that something in your relationship is going wrong and you should act.
5. Impatience or frequent criticism
Instead of compassion and forgiveness, impatience and criticism encourages conflicts. Here the partner is pushed through hurtful comments and behavior, leading to more relationship stress.
There you have it. Of course, there are nuances and other signs of stress, but these are clear indicators and coping with them is crucial for a fulfilling relationship.
So now that we know the signs of relationship stress, let us explore how we can effectively cope with it. Effectively coping with stress in a relationship starts with the three dimensions of stress coping. Click on any of the links below to tackle the stress.
- What we do about the stressors in our relationship
- What our relationship means to us and how we view it
- How we see ourselves and our part in a relationship
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