No one thinks about how stress can be the mood killer in a relationship. There have been many studies
that have shown the impacts stress has on the body physiologically, but stress is one of those things that
seem to fester into other parts of our lives. It impacts the way we think, how we speak, and how we
sleep. Ask yourself this: If I am stressed, Are people getting the best version of me?
Probably not. Once you identify that you are not the best version of yourself, then ask yourself: How can
I be the best version of myself?
When you are in a relationship with your partner, it may be easier to feel like you cannot talk to them
about your stress because you do not want to stress them out or they are very different in their line of
thinking. However, this is the time to connect with your partner and communicate with them what you
need from them.
Whether you just need them to listen or offer advice- communicate that to them. It’s
not easy, but you are teaching your partner how to show up for you when you feel like things are at a
dead end. You can teach them how to support you by either explicitly telling them like :
“Babe, I really need to tell you about my day. Are you available to listen?”
Then afterwards you can follow up with : “Thank you for listening, I feel much better about it”
On the flip side, partners who are on the listening end. Just Listen. That’s it. Just listen. Unless your
partner is asking for you to problem-solve or asking for your advice, you may be adding to their stress.
When you just need someone to talk to and the other person gives advice from how they would handle
the situation, it doesn’t really help the person to be heard. It ends up making the person feel invalidated
in how they are experiencing the situation.