Picture provided by Christian Erfurt Via Unsplash
Everyone will experience stress and we are familiar with the negative effects on our health. Sometimes we can carry our negative emotions over into our relationships and may not realize how it will affect our relationships. Although everyone goes through stress, it is harmful. Oftentimes those who have pent-up negative emotions try to keep them to themselves, which can make it hard for your partner to understand what is going on.
Your partner may catch on to the underlying mood and inwardly start feeling stressed themselves. Yes, emotions can be contagious! Couples can get trapped in this horrible cycle and be too stressed to deal with it immediately and unsure what the underlying issues are.
Below are some of the ways our negative emotions can trigger problems in a relationship.
Makes Emotional Unavailability
When we are feeling stressed, we tend to become emotionally unavailable. We lose our patience. The slightest annoyance can make us burst into anger. This happens because when we are under stress, our body and mind switch to fight or flight mode.
All our mental energies are channeled to the perceived cause of our negative emotions. All other things are classified as unimportant. So during the stress phase, when our partners try to approach us, our first reaction is to reject the gesture or become annoyed or angry. When this happens a lot, it can cause a bigger problem in the relationship.
Brings out Feelings of Resentment
When we are in flight or fight mode, our brain is focused on eliminating the cause. In the process, we become distracted. Or at least, we look distracted to our partners. When we are under stress, we are unable to tolerate outside interference. You might not even hear it when your partner asks you a simple question like, “How are you?” or “Are you Ok?” At that time, the best you can do is to answer your partner with a curt response.
A situation like this can lead your partner to have feelings of resentment. He/she may resent the fact that you are not sharing your thoughts. Your partner may have a genuine desire to help you and may interpret your behavior as a sign of rejection.
Drags in Seriousness
Negativity can affect our ability to have fun and be good companions to our partners. Our emotions can affect all of our senses. When we are feeling out of sorts, we fail to see the beauty of the world. We don’t stop and smell the flowers and we fail to hear the lovely songs of the birds chirping. People tend to avoid the company of a person who always seems to be under stress. So how will you be able to enjoy delicious food with your partner? How will you be able to watch a movie? Under stress, you cannot even enjoy a simple conversation with your partner.
Effects Intuition
Intuition is important in a relationship. It affects our ability to love and accept love. Because of intuition, we sense when our partners are not feeling well or when they need extra care. It has a crucial part to play in making us affectionate and thoughtful. Our negative emotions can affect our intuition, as well. Again, this is because when we are experiencing our negative emotions, all our bodily resources are inclined to deal with the cause of it.
Final thoughts
This is why when we are stressed we become less affectionate and less loving. It is hard to become intimate when our minds are preoccupied with a lot of thoughts. And when intimacy disappears from a relationship, it suffers badly. This does not have to happen though. You can experience stress without necessarily affecting your relationship.
Turn your feelings into an opportunity of seeing what you are going through as a challenge and something to overcome – together with your partner. You can be open and communicate your feelings with your partner and give them the opportunity to help. You and your partner can learn from each other what the two of you need from one another during difficult times. Therefore feeling cared for, valued, and understood.
Thank you for reading this article! For more content, please check out Stellar-Advice