What if the problem isn't your partner--it's stress? This relatable and empowering guide offers indispensable tools to stress-proof your relationship.
"Full of clear strategies for overcoming the overwhelm. A must-read!"--Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play Every week, couples come into Elizabeth Earnshaw's therapy room claiming their relationship issues are stressing them out. "The reality is just the opposite," she says. "The unprecedented collective stress we all face today is the cause of many relationship challenges couples are experiencing." With 'Til Stress Do Us Part, this trusted expert shares the tools you need to protect yourself and your relationship from distress--and restore harmony, understanding, and love. Beginning with an overview of many kinds of stress we face--from acute to chronic stress and even positive stress--Earnshaw uses client stories and personal experiences to reveal the visible and invisible strains on ourselves and our relationships. With warmth and humor, she shares research-backed practices to help you detect signs of overwhelm and take proactive measures to protect, refresh, and heal yourselves. You'll discover journaling prompts, body-based exercises, scripts, boundary-setting guidelines, and more for letting go of pressures and restoring intimacy. Over the course of the book, you'll learn how to:- Set effective boundaries
- Self-soothe and self-regulate when life gets rough
- Take responsibility for what makes you happy
- Communicate with compassion rather than resentment
- Identify and cope with what's in your control... and what's not
- Reduce conflict and find more connection in your relationship "When we become partners, we commit to taking on life's troubles together," says Earnshaw. Here is an essential resource for helping you return your relationship to what it should be--a refuge from stress in a turbulent and demanding world in which we always have each other's backs.