With the holidays coming up, you might be feeling a little more stressed in what can only be described as an awful year. However, it’s imperative that you work to strengthen your relationship with your partner to avoid ruining what should be a loving and caring family time.
Consider Professional Guidance
We are lucky to live in a world where a lot has been learned about mental health and relationships. When you need help, trained therapists like those at Toronto and Ottawa Psychotherapy Services can help. They can help you and your partner with face-to-face counseling. Therapists use standard methods to solve the most common problems in long-term relationships, like not talking to each other, cheating, and not respecting each other.
Strengthen Your Relationship without Blame
People cheat all the time. About 45% of people who are in a relationship will at least once sleep with someone else. And this can make both sides blame the other. But when people play the blame game, no one wins. Even if you succeed in trying to blame all your issues on your companion, you are still stuck with those troubles and the emotions that arise with them. The only way to start finding solutions to your problems is for both of you to accept full responsibility.
Spend Quality Time Together
Family and friends get together during the holidays. Fall and winter can be great times of the year if you have kids. Even a short walk through a brown-leaf park can feel like a good use of time. Most of us work a lot these days, so the holidays can be the only time we really get to spend with our partners. So make the most of the little time you have by putting past mistakes out of your mind and focusing on the kindness, fun, and closeness that the holidays are for.
Make a Plan for Getting Through
For some people, the holiday season is the most stressful time of the year. So much so that they fight about the smallest things. Still, money is a big part of holiday fights because they cause financial stress. Here are some ways to deal with increased stress over the holidays:
- Go over your finances to know what you can and cannot afford.
- Split time equally between you and your partner’s family.
- Parent your children together as a loving couple.
- Try to schedule equal time around work commitments.
- Plan each holiday around the time and money you have available.
Money problems do put stress on a relationship, especially if you have kids and want the best for them. But that’s not always possible. You can feel less stressed if you buy gifts one at a time. But try not to get into more debt by taking out loans or using credit cards you can’t afford.
Learn to Communicate Your Feelings
Relationship counselors will tell you how important it is to talk to each other. When you shut down, your partner can’t figure out what you want. And because of that, they will also turn off. So much so that you often can’t even look at each other. But when you talk about a problem in an open and honest way, you can work together on a solution. Often, this means realizing that you and them see the situation differently and that these differences need to be respected.
Forgiveness Helps Strengthen Your Relationship
There are many wrong ideas about what it means to forgive. When you forgive someone, it doesn’t mean you have to let them hurt you again. It means you agree that you and your companion are doing the best you can. Of course, they would be doing better if they knew better. Most of the time, we don’t mean to hurt or disappoint each other. When you forgive, you promise that you will release the hurt from the past so that you can move on to better things.
Rekindle Your Passion
When you’re in a long-term relationship, the everyday tasks of life can quickly fill up your schedule and make you lose interest in your partner. You need to know that it takes work from each of you to keep things interesting. Try to spend time with your partner when you won’t be bothered by anything. If you realize that you just sit on the couch and watch Netflix all the time, go out on dates. Get out of the house and try new things with your partner to bring you closer.
Summary
You can experience stress in your relationship at any time. But it’s often moved to breaking point over the holidays. However, you can work to strengthen your relationship during these trying times. You can seek couples therapy, plan money and time, and spend intimate time together.
