Common stress points in the life of a relationship
The number one reason for divorce in Australia is communication breakdown and the number one cause of stress is children and parenting. Other common stress points include:
- Money problems
- Sex – desire discrepancy, frequency, etc
- Time apart Lack of quality time together serves to get people out of sync with each other.
- Household Responsibilities Many couples argue over equitable distribution of household work, and how to do it. Instead of sitting down and dividing household chores fairly they
quibble over who did or didn’t do what. - Friends Not all friends are helpful to relationships – some of them are toxic. Be sure you know the difference between a friend who will enhance your relationship and one who will break it down.
- Irritating habits Many people are married to someone who has one or more habits that they find undesirable. My ex never got angry with me. I asked him once why and told him there
had to be things I did that irritated him. He responded by telling me he “loved everything about me.” This was shortly before he decided he no longer loved me! So, don’t be afraid to point out habits that irritate you. Just be sure you do it in a non-defensive way. - Family In-laws, siblings, children and step-children can all create stress within a relationship. When coping with negative issues because of family step gently. Our partner should come first but there are times you have to be willing to take a backseat and bite your tongue.
- Expectations We all go into relationships with certain expectations. Most of the time, relationship is the opposite of what we expected. We romanticise relationships and become disillusioned once those romantic expectations aren’t met. Unmet expectations
are a major source of conflict in relationships.