Keeping Communication Key and Stress Free
The Valentine’s Day Dilemma
Valentine’s Day- one of the biggest days of the year where there is no escaping the objects and advice of love found all around. Being a time of emphasis on love and relationships the question of how to improve the one you’re in is even more prevalent. As advertisements might suggest, the option to buy a stuffed animal, a box of chocolates, maybe some flowers, or perhaps even a romantic evening out is a seemingly easy choice to add a little spark to what might be the dwindling flame of your relationship. However, achieving a lasting and loving union is not just about the simple fix; having a healthy union is about give and take and requires an understanding of each others wants and the ability to communicate them.
Couple Communication
It is often said, and found to be true, that communication is key for a sustainable relationship. Agreeing with this sentiment is former Kenosis Counselor Angela Green MS Psychotherapist who has firsthand experience both as a married woman herself, but more importantly as a counselor who has helped couples with issues like communication. She describes her approach as “a strength based approach” and says , “It is important to acknowledge the reason you are together in the first place. We set clear goals and focus on effective communication styles which address the solutions and steps needed to move towards a healthy marriage.” An advocate of counseling if needed, communication can also be achieved without it in the home using the right strategies like the ones Psych Alive, an online educational resource on psychological matters, describes here.
Steps for “Collaborative Communication”
- Approaching a Conversation With Your Partner – have the right attitude in approach
- Talking to Your Partner –know you only know your own perspective
- Listening to Your Partner-truly listen to hear
- Determining Reality With Your Partner –review and discuss the conversation coming to a conclusion
Couples Counseling
At times a couple is unable to effectively communicate with one another on their own which is where a counselor like Kenosis Counseling Center’s former counselor Angela Green comes into the picture. An advocate for marriage therapy she speaks of her own experience with it having given her and her husband “tools that helped us cope with the daily stressors we faced such as work and raising three children.” Every couple experiences stress, such as issues like these many couples face daily, and could be entirely unnecessary to take on alone. Seeking out the guidance of a counselor to help mediate and work through such problems could help provide the skills for future use building up the potential for a happier, healthier relationship.
Wood has to be constantly added to the fire of a relationship or else it could turn from an inferno to fizzled out. The efforts a couple goes to at times like that of Valentine’s Day can help maintain the status but is only temporary, relationships being more than the makings of a romanticized holiday. When it comes to relationships you get out of them what you put in and marriage therapy could be a great investment for betterment. As Angela Green expressed from her own experience, “Marriage therapy is not a quick fix and it does require work, but the rewards can be amazing for your entire family.”
