In 2022, the American Psychological Association (APA) did a survey that found Americans have a “battered psyche” from the onslaught of stress that they are facing—both “normal” daily stressors on top of “an intense range of stressors over the past few years, as the COVID-19 pandemic, racial injustice, and political divisiveness have dominated news cycles and social media.”

All of these things (the stressors on the “outside of our relationships”) spill over into the connection we have with others. Our levels of stress play a role in the stability of our relationships. Of course, this makes sense. When we are depleted, we are less likely to respond to other people with kindness, affection, humor, curiosity, flexibility, and many of the other qualities we need to exhibit in order to have a strong relationship.

The impact of stress on relationships has been studied for a long time. We know that it impacts people’s minds, bodies, and emotions in a way that makes it harder to have the bandwidth to relate. Yet, many of us don’t know where to start to fix it all.

I often work with people who ask, "How can I handle the stress spillover? What do I do?"

This is a complex question and I answer it more fully in my book 'Til Stress Do Us........

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