Navigating Stressful Situations Without Turning on Each Other: Episode 398
EmPowered Couples with The Freemans
Aaron & Jocelyn Freeman
5.0 • 589 Ratings
🗓️ 3 June 2025
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Stressful situations are inevitable, but how you handle them together can either strengthen or strain your relationship. In this episode, we talk about the kind of external stress that sneaks up on you: sick kids, surprise job changes, financial curveballs, or even your dog throwing up after eating crayons. But the real breakdown doesn't come from the stress itself, it comes from when that stress turns into tension between you. Suddenly, you're no longer teammates, you're opponents. That's when decisions get harder, emotions run hotter, and connection takes a hit.
We share personal stories from our own chaotic summer, what it's like prepping for big life changes (including being guests on Ed Mylett's podcast), and how good stress and bad stress can show up in unexpected ways. You'll also hear real-life examples from couples navigating stress with completely different approaches—and how to stay united even when your instincts don't align. If you want to face pressure as partners, not enemies, this episode is a must-listen.
👉 Ready to strengthen your connection and navigate tough seasons as a team? Start the Prioritizing Us 30-Day Couples Challenge at mycoupleschallenge.com
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the Empower Couples podcast. |
| 0:02.3 | We're here you get modern, non-boring relationship advice for you and your partner to communicate |
| 0:07.4 | like pros, fight smarter, and stay on the same team no matter the challenge that you face. |
| 0:12.3 | I am one of your hosts, Erin Freeman. |
| 0:14.1 | And I'm Jocelyn Freeman, but you all just know us as the Freeman's. |
| 0:17.5 | And this is navigating stressful situations without turning on each other. |
| 0:23.6 | And mind you, I woke up at 1 a.m. to our daughter having thrown up on herself in the bed. |
| 0:30.6 | Got that all cleaned up in like half hour, 40 minutes, got her back to sleep. |
| 0:35.6 | Woke up this morning at 5 to our dog throwing |
| 0:38.9 | up on our new carpet. |
| 0:40.5 | And this was also with me getting half a night's sleep because I had a hard time sleeping |
| 0:45.4 | after this movie we watched before bed. |
| 0:47.5 | So we're running on low sleep today. |
| 0:49.9 | Well, it's just funny because stress, there are a number of places where we're experiencing |
| 0:56.9 | stress and we talk to couples every day and we really wanted to cover this idea about stress. |
| 1:04.4 | Now, the part I wanted to start with is really this understanding. |
| 1:08.4 | We mentioned it on a podcast before, but you're going to experience |
| 1:13.4 | external stress in your personal life, as well as in your shared life with your partner. I'm |
| 1:21.2 | saying that very specifically that way. And that's a lot of times unavoidable. |
| 1:40.9 | And you do your best, we do our best, the humans do their best, to plan, to predict, to make agreements, to have schedules, to follow through on those schedules in a timely manner. |
| 1:48.3 | And all that does help avoid those foreseeable external stresses. |
| 1:55.1 | And there is going to always be those that we just cannot foresee. For example, |
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