06 Jul If happiness is togetherness then check out these 7 tips for improving your relationship
Life in the 21st century is putting more strain on marriages than ever. Sheba Wheeler speaks to the experts on how to ease the load.
What with the military planning, financially crippling outlays and generally enormous importance we accord modern weddings, it’s easy for couples to think the hard part is over after the walk down the aisle. But relationship experts who have studied marriages over the decades say the work has just begun, especially for today’s bride and groom.
Modern marriages require more communication skills, conflict management and negotiation, says Howard Markman, a University of Denver professor. Which all sounds depressingly close to a hard day at the office, but is probably true when one considers that everyday relationship stresses have grown beyond both parents working outside the home and managing over-scheduled children’s hobbies. Results from a longitudinal study on relationships begun in 1996 show that anxieties about war, terrorism, financial pressures, job loss, depression and technology – internet use and social networking – are pulling marriages apart.
Markman says US studies indicate that 20 per cent of couples who recently wed had met online. But technology also makes it easier to cheat; couples point to internet pornography and arguments over appropriate mobile phone usage among marriage-tension factors. “Instead of just fighting about money or how frequently to have sex, couples are also fighting about time spent on Facebook or whether it’s okay to send a text during a romantic dinner or bring a laptop on a getaway weekend,” says Markman, who, along with co-authors Scott Stanley and Susan Blumberg, has updated Fighting for Your Marriage to reflect changes in matrimony and romantic relationships since the book was first published in 1994.
So, in the hope of fostering more happiness, closeness and longevity in your marriage, here’s some advice…
…to read more, especially the 7 practical tips to bring happiness into your relationship – JUST CLICK HERE