Does the Isolation Make or Break Your Relationship?
Does the Isolation Make or Break Your Relationship?
Before the stay-at-home orders started to paralyze most European countries, which only happened approximately one month ago, although it feels like three already, I was joking with one of my colleagues about the fact that many couples will either get married, if they haven't done this already, or divorced after the restrictions are lifted.
The pandemic has changed our lives so much and it will continue to do this in the months to come, and the biggest change we all had to adapt to was spending so much time at home. For those who live together with their partner or spouse the shift from seeing the other person only in the evenings and ar weekends, to practically live 24/7 in the same limited environment with that person has surely been huge.
There are pf course people who still go to work every day as they can't do their job remotely, however, even for them there certainly is a new routine they have to adapt to. Just like for the stay-at-home population, there is a very limited array of activities they can do outside their homes, except for going to work, which brings them to the same necessity of adapting to a new life in which they simply have to spend more time with their partner.
This time can make or break a relationship. It can enable you to discover your partner and socialize again for hours like you probably haven't done for a very long period. This is also the time to talk about serious things and make plans for the future. Whether you want to move house, buy a property or start a family, you can take the chance to discuss about your desires and goals with your partners. I don't have time right now is really an excuse very few of us can still use these days.
However, at the same time, there are many couples out there who face double hardship due to the pandemic. On the one hand, they are trappped indoors without much to do in the outside world except for buying groceries and going on a short walk in the neighborhood. On the other, they have to share the same cage with a partner who was alright when they were working all they long and barely had the time to say a few words in the evening, and who is now making their life a living hell and nagging them about everything that goes wrong.
Unfortunately, it's only in times like these, when we are forced to accept proximity, that we realize we are not really a good match for our partner.
No matter what your situation is, remember that the other person is, in this case, almost literally in the same boat with you, and that they face the same concerns as you. Whether you discover how bad or how good your partner is, don't forget that, first of all, he or she is a person who deserves to be understood and to be able to feel at ease in their home.
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