In this episode, we look at how to be a supportive partner. 

Written By: Sophie Sumpter | https://www.instagram.com/sorosum/

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The Problem:

Choosing to share your life with a romantic partner looks different for everyone. Cohabitating, long distance relationships, choosing to have children or not. There are a lot of choices and none of them are necessarily “right” or “wrong”. However, there is one common denominator among every successful relationship: your partner will one day face challenges that are outside of your control and outside of your experience. So how do you support them when you can’t move a roadblock out of their path? Is it even your responsibility to move it?

Digging Deeper:

Throughout the course of your relationship, the type of support that your partner needs may change. Mental illness, chronic pain, cancer, or family deaths name a few of the unpredictable things that may throw your relationship for a loop. According to the National Law Review, stress about finances, parenting disagreements, and household responsibilities are some of the most common challenges faced in relationships. To make things worse, COVID-19 has heightened anxieties leading to an uptick in divorce rates (National Law Review, 2020). According to the New York Post, the number of people seeking divorce from March to June of this year was 34% higher than March to June of 2019 (Rosner, 2020). Newly weds seem to be the demographic seeking divorce at a higher rate than ever before (Rosner, 2020).

The Solution

Supporting your partner through a difficult situation involves first realizing that we all have problems that we go through. This seems like a general statement that we are all aware of, but it’s important to acknowledge and be reminded of. Our partner’s struggles may be similar to or the same problem as the ones we are facing, but their experience is entirely independent of our own. It can be easy to ignore this when we get so caught up in our own day to day struggle. We may experience the exact same thing as another person, such as the pandemic, but no two experiences are exactly the same.

SOURCES:

Medina, Raphael. Supporting Your Partner: Long Term Illness. (2020). Ultimate Love Counseling & Coaching. 

Retrieved from https://ultimatelovecc.com.supporting-your-partner-long-term-illness/.

Rosner, Elizabeth. (2020). Divorce Rates Skyrocket in US Amidst Pandemic. New York Post.

Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2020/09/01/divorce-rates-skyrocket-in-u-s-amid-covid-19/.

National Law Review. (2020). Divorce Rates and COVID-19. 

Retrieved from https://www.natlawreview.com/article/divorce-rates-and-covid-19.

Cramer, Duncan. (2006). How Supportive Partner May Increase Relationship Satisfaction.

British Journal of Guidance & Counseling. 

Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03069880500483141