Dealing with Stress – How to Prevent Anxiety from Ruining Important Relationships

Chronic stress is a bummer. It can have a devastating effect on the body. It can lead to low energy, loss of libido, stomach problems, headaches, insomnia and more. Not only will the body be an absolute wreck when experiencing anxiety, but close personal relationships may also suffer as well.

Stress is the body’s reaction to mental or physical circumstances – and they can cause some pretty severe mood swings. This can lead someone to make out-of-character decisions, withdraw away from friends and family, and lash out at romantic partners.

When stress rears its ugly head, it can quickly snowball out of control and turn you into someone else. Here are the best marriage advice tips for dealing with stress and saving those precious relationships.

The Negative Impacts of Stress

When stress enters romantic relationships, it tends to wreak havoc on both the body and the mind. It can make marriage feel more like a chore than a joy and may lead to sickness and disinterest with life. These are just some of the reasons why stress ruins relationships.

1. Detrimental to Health

Stress is made by the body, but that doesn’t mean the body likes it. Stress can lead to a host of unpleasant physical ailments. Such symptoms of stress include:

• Headaches/Migraines
• Lowered immune system that leads to infections and colds
• Random aches and pains
• Fatigue
• Upset stomach and digestive issues
• Shaking and nervousness
• Teeth grindings
• Loss of sexual desire

These are not only bad for one’s health, they are bad for relationships, both romantic and otherwise.

2. Constantly Irritable

Nobody likes being around someone who is constantly irritable. Stress can trigger feelings of worry, fear, and aggravation. This can cause a partner to snap at their spouse unexpectedly and over-react to situations. It can cause a partner to view their spouse as unapproachable and frigid.

3. Fantasizing about Another Life

Anxiety in the household can cause one partner to have thoughts of abandoning their own life in favor of something less stressful. This may cause one partner to stray outside of the relationship or to emotionally abandon their marriage.

4. No Time for Important Intimacy

Building emotional and physical intimacy with a spouse is essential for maintaining a happy, healthy relationship. The higher one’s level of stress, the lower their interest in a romantic partner.

For example, a lowered libido means couples aren’t taking the time to build physical intimacy and the important oxytocin that goes along with it.

Oxytocin is a “love hormone” that science reveals plays an important role in bonding and increases trust in romantic partners. Furthermore, oxytocin is a true stress reliever.

Stress and anxiety can also make one feel distant and withdrawn, which diminishes the important emotional intimacy in marriage.

5. Constantly Distracted

One study on what makes a healthy marriage reveals that couples who express gratitude and appreciation for one another were the highest predictors of increased relationship satisfaction.

Stress can cause severe distractions. This can make romantic relationships hard to maintain. It can also make the un-stressed partner feel left out, unappreciated, and ignored.

How to Prevent Stress from Ruining Relationships

From work to family matters, stress is an unavoidable part of life. But it shouldn’t ruin life. These are the best marriage advice tips for getting rid of stress and restoring those important relationships.

1. Look for ways to Relieve Stress

Focus on ways to relieve stress. Take a bubble bath, take more time for personal pursuits, look for ways to relax. Research indicates that various forms of exercise: yoga, running, weight-training, can boost happiness and reduce stress. Making time for exercise can be a life-saver.

This may mean planning ahead to ensure work and family schedules line up with taking extra time for personal activities.

2. Don’t Make Things Worse

If stress is already something that is causing personal problems, do not take on more than you can bear. Do not take on more responsibilities or commit to appointments that will overwhelm an otherwise healthy routine.

3. Get to the Root of The Problem

One important piece of marriage advice for saving a relationship from the effects of stress is to find out what is causing it.

Do a self-examination to see what has changed in life recently. Perhaps there are marital problems or new responsibilities at work that result in unnecessary anxiety. Getting to the root of these problems will be pivotal in lowering harmful stress.

4. Don’t Go it Alone

Life can get overwhelming and many try and handle stress on their own. Doing this for too long can cause a meltdown. When things start to get out of control, never be too ashamed or embarrassed to ask for help.

Reach out to trusted loved ones and create a support system. It may only take one person offering their services to watch the kids or help around the house for any stress to dissipate.

There are also professionals, therapists, and counselors, who can do wonders for reducing stress and creating a plan of action to avoid such anxiety from building up again.

5. Create a Weekly Date Night

The best marriage advice for maintaining a healthy relationship is to schedule a weekly date night. Doing so can restore anything that has been damaged by the stress in the relationship.

Taking one night a week for spouses to spend some alone time together is shown to promote communication and restore excitement to a marriage.

It also allows couples to build sexual chemistry. This can be highly beneficial for married couples, as studies show sexual satisfaction predicted heightened emotional intimacy in couples.

The best marriage advice for dealing with stress is to take control of it before it wreaks havoc on important close relationships. Get to the root of the problem and continue spending time as partners. This will strengthen your marriage against stress and anxiety.