What is so much togetherness doing for your relationship?
In my experience of seeing couples over the last few months, it seems that most relationships have undergone significant changes over the course of the lock-down, with some couples reporting that their relationships have gone from strength to strength whilst other couples have had the opposite experience and have found that they have become increasingly unhappy.
Of course there are a multiplicity of factors and reasons that account for these differences between couples.
A major factor is stress. Many couples and families have been under extreme stress during the lockdown. Financial concerns and hardships, home-schooling and working-from-home demands as well as health concerns and anxieties are amongst the major culprits. Job insecurity and job-losses are also common sources of major stress.
How couples handle these stressors and whether or not they co-operate with each other and work as a team has a significant impact of the degree to which a couple is able to successfully weather the impact of Covid 19 and the lockdown. Couples who support each other and operate as a team will also benefit psychologically, experiencing more contentment and happiness and less anxiety and depression.
I therefore recommend that couples who are experiencing difficulties find ways of working on improving the quality of their relationship. They will be happier for it, and so will their significant others!