3 Ways to Prevent COVID-19 Fatigue from Affecting Your Relationship
It’s no surprise that relationships can be very challenging.
Even in the best of times, couples often struggle with staying connected and engaged with one another. But the ongoing pandemic has caused even more stress on relationships.
Especially now, when many are experiencing COVID-19 fatigue.
The stress of having to maintain essential precautions such as staying at home more, wearing a mask, maintaining distance from others has been stressful. Even though those practices are necessary for health.
If COVID-19 fatigue is an issue, here are three ways to prevent it from affecting your relationship.
1. Do Something Fun Together!
A sure-fire way to jump-start things as a couple is to do something fun together. Having fun as a couple is more than just doing something pleasant. When we have fun with our partners, we build a stronger connection with them. Here’s how:
The shared experience: When we participate in fun activities together, we have common, shared experiences. Those experiences can live on as a memory that can be recalled well after the event has occurred.
The neurochemical response: If you are having fun, your body releases neurochemicals such as serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin. Now imagine the effect when this happens when doing something fun with our partners!
Even with COVID, there are still plenty of opportunities to have fun as a couple. Take a hike, play a game together, or binge-watch a TV series. Just do it together!
2. Have Honest Conversations
Another important preventative measure to ensure COVID fatigue doesn’t affect your relationship is also perhaps the most simple. Talk to each other! But make it more than chit-chat.
Rather, have honest conversations about what you are feeling and experiencing. These times have been challenging for all of us. Yet, we often hold back on sharing those feelings, even with our partners.
However, by talking about our feelings, worries, concerns, and thoughts, we can actually build a connection with those we care about. Keep in mind this is not complaining. Rather, it’s about voicing how we truly feel. And, listening attentively to our partners to ensure that they feel heard.
3. Mix Things Up
One situation that we have all experienced, to one degree or another, is repetitiveness. Although staying at home has been essential to mitigating the threat of COVID, it also can be boring. The days all seem the same, with booked Zoom meetings, helping the kids with remote learning, and all the other necessities that need to happen every day.
On one hand, consistency can be reassuring. However, it doesn’t hurt now and then to mix things up. What would happen if both of you took the day off (if possible) to get out of the house? Another way to mix things up is to practice small acts of kindness with one another. For example:
Fresh flowers in a vase to brighten up the room.
A kind note left at your partner’s workstation.
Volunteering to take on washing the dishes so they can relax.
Embracing one another and saying, “I love you.”
These little moments can have just as much impact as big, planned events. Plus, they are more spontaneous, which can make them even more impactful.
Getting Help for COVID-19 Fatigue
Even with our best efforts, it’s still possible to experience COVID-19 fatigue. Also, for that fatigue to affect our relationships. Let’s keep something in mind. This is a pandemic. A global crisis that we have not experienced at such a sale in over 100 years.
Of course there will be times of fatigue and burnout. When it happens, let’s be kind to ourselves and acknowledge the situation. Also, it’s important to reach out for additional help and support through therapy. Therapy, including relationship counseling, will help to bring clarity and understanding to the situation. It can also be an opportunity to stay connected.
We still have a long way to go. But don’t give up hope! Practice the three tips listed above to prevent fatigue from affecting your relationship. However, don’t hesitate to reach out for relationship counseling as well for additional support.
