Do you ever get frustrated in your relationship thinking it should easier, especially during the pandemic?
'Happily ever after' doesn’t just happen, it takes work.
"Marriage is a verb, relationships are verbs, right? And they are what we make them," says marriage researcher Carol Bruess.
She stopped by Mom2Mom with Maria Sansone to share her tips on how to help couples stop and reassess how they are handling their relationships during these stressful times.
She says to think of your relationship in the context of cultures.
We all have family cultures and backgrounds. Bruess says your immediate family is a culture that you create.
"There's no other culture that you have this big of an influence on. But your marriage, your family is your own little micro village. When you get to decide what the vibe is, what the mood, how do you speak to one another, what are the traditions?"
Bruess says marriage is a verb, an interactive, dynamic relationship that is forever changing. It's up to you to do the work and adjust according to each other's needs.
During these troubled times, she says it's more important than ever to check in with each other to make sure each partner is being heard and that each other's needs are being met.
It may sound simple, but during all this chaos, those closest to us often get lost in the shuffle.
For the complete episode of Mom2Mom with Carol and more tips, including great de-stressors for the holidays, click here.
