You can’t and shouldn’t take on yourself the whole weight of supporting your spouse. While you are overcoming this problem, use it as an opportunity to build a list of rituals that help you battle stress regularly. Their stress will go down as their to-do list shrinks.
Incorporate healthy habits.
- It was so great to see that,” or ask, “What was so different about today that made it good?
- Watching someone you love go through a stressful period is difficult, but there are ways to comfort someone who is stressed.
- There have been countless times my husband has come home distracted and nearly despondent but by the time he’s finally relaxed and starts talking, that stress just melts away.
- Even if you see a way out of the situation that your partner doesn’t and you are convinced it would work, don’t impose that solution.
- “Take a break from the fast food and enjoy each other’s company with a home-cooked meal,” Henry says.
In small doses, stress can be beneficial, helping us stay focused and alert. However, prolonged stress can be harmful, affecting our physical health, leading to issues like headaches, insomnia, and high blood pressure. It can also impact our mental health, contributing to anxiety, depression, and irritability. With time off of work reaching all-time lows and stress levels peaking to all-time highs, is there a better reason to book a wellness-focused vacation? Multiple studies have shown that taking vacations has health benefits, and when coupled with activities designed for physical and mental well-being, that impact can be exponentially beneficial.
How does stress affect my relationship?
First and foremost, you need to be there for your partner to comfort them at this stressful time. In these difficult times, we’ve made a number of our coronavirus articles free for all readers. To get all of HBR’s content delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Daily Alert newsletter. Animals give unconditional love to their owners, so taking your dog out to play fetch is guaranteed to be a feelgood experience. Try a class, hit a club, or turn some music on at home.
- To combat stress and burnout, employers are increasingly offering benefits like virtual mental health support, spontaneous days or even weeks off, meeting-free days, and flexible work scheduling.
- “What this means is, don’t go home straight from the office. Take a break to have a drink with a pal, go to the gym, meditate, or listen to a podcast before you come in. You will be so much more awesome to be around.”
- When you can sense that your partner is stressed, suggest that you both do an activity that they love to do — even if you’re not necessarily into it yourself.
- Erin practices several methods that have helped me navigate these work-related challenges over the years.
attachment styles in adult relationships you should know
- “You may notice that they’re eating or drinking differently, experiencing more sullen behavior, or isolating themselves.
- If your spouse is suffering from work stress, you can help them cope by suggesting that they talk to a professional about what they’re dealing with.
- If you’re wondering how to be a supportive wife or how to be a supportive husband, there are a few tricks that can help you in that quest.
At some point in every marriage, we all struggle with stress and the effects it has on our marriages and our communication. But as wives, it’s hard watching our husbands struggle, especially when how to destress after work we feel powerless to help or make them happy. If they’re expressing their anxiety to you — even if it’s not in a calm or productive way — try to hear them out. Even if you don’t agree with them, stopping to take the time to actually hear what they’re saying will help validate their point of view.
But stepping in and getting involved can be the wrong approach, argues working couples expert Jennifer Petriglieri. It’s unlikely to work, and it’s likely to make you more stressed yourself. It may feel counterintuitive but stepping away from your partner’s stress and creating boundaries to fence it out is the best way to support them, and yourself, in the long term. To combat stress and burnout, employers are increasingly offering benefits like virtual mental health support, spontaneous days or even weeks off, meeting-free days, and flexible work scheduling. Despite these efforts and the increasing number of employees buying into the importance of wellness, the effort is lost if you don’t actually recover. So, if you feel like you’re burning out, what works when it comes to recovering from stress?
- He has written extensively on the topics of life, relationships, and mental health for more than 8 years.
- Turn their attention to anything that isn’t the source of their stress.
- So I encourage him in that pursuit as much as I can, often helping him with a project or just chatting with him while he’s working in the garage.
- Displacement has been a huge issue I’ve had to face in our marriage.
However, there are things you can do to mitigate its impact. Keep an open mind for new ways they need you to support them. You are never helpless because you can always hug them and be there for them. Stay present, and the weight of what they are feeling will decrease.