How to grow your relationship if you are quarantining with your partner

As efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 continue, people have been forced to quarantine themselves in their homes in bids to flatten the infections curve.

For couples living together, or those who have chosen to spent this time quarantined together, being confined to the house means having to spend an unknown amount of time in the company of a partner.

Since it is not clear when things are likely to get back to normal, couples are continuously finding it hard to adjust and keep up with the new norms of never leaving the house. Couples now have to spend time around the same person amidst all the frustrations that might arise.

Nonetheless, as partners, you can spend this time strengthening your relationship and growing yourselves together as a couple. All it takes is putting in effort to be mindful of your own needs as well as those of your partner.

You need to consider working with routines and narrowing your focus on the positives for you to make the best out of your stay together during the lockdown. Here are some things can help you make the best of the quarantine period to build you relationship:

Try to maintain your individual routine

Social distancing precautions may have meant that now you have to work remotely. Consequently, your morning routine when you were going to work has either been replaced or ignored. For the relationship to run smoothly, you may have to consider sticking to your routine and not letting your partner’s needs force you to change or ignore it.

If you relish the quiet mornings when commuting to work, then you can consider getting up early before your partner so that you can have the morning to yourself and get the quiet time you need.

Having your personal space puts you in a better mindset to adequately take care of your relationship while at the same time feeling great about yourself.

Focus on the positives

You don’t want your partner and yourself fighting over and over during quarantine. It is a challenging moment and you need to be as comfortable with each other as possible.

While it might be hard to focus on the positives right now, it is the way to ensure that you don’t find yourselves fighting unnecessarily.

Instead of focusing on why he didn’t put his tee in the laundry hamper, you can instead focus on being happy that he is helping with the dishes, or that he is keeping up on the news about staying safe during the pandemic. All it calls for is a shift of mindset.

Talk about sex

First things first. It’s not like hitting the sheets all the time is going to make you OD on happy hormones, as health.com puts it.

However, if you see an issue or feel your partner is not on the same page with you when it comes to sex, you can have a conversation about your apprehensions.  

You need to be kind to each other and talk through your intimacy concerns as it is common to find that, individually, you are dealing with your stresses differently. You might want to get hanky-panky all the time whereas that could be the last thing on your partners mind during this moment.

In all you decide to do, together or separately, don’t let anxiety find its way to your bedroom.

Have empathy for your partner

Showing empathy to your partner is one of the most important things you can do during this stressful time.

It might not be common for you to see your man weak or falling apart, but that doesn’t mean you shy away from displaying empathy towards him. He may want to stay strong during this challenging period despite, say, losing his job, but deep down he really needs compassion and empathy.

When you make it a point to understand whatever fears and anxieties your partner might be experiencing, you can ultimately grow stronger as a couple.