Have you ever wondered how easy conflict resolution between young married couples can be? You are about to find out.
Many family and marriage therapy experts work with people to assist them in exploring an extensive set of relationships and behavioral issues. Most of the time, couples generally experience life complications that can easily be solved by introducing specific techniques. Notwithstanding, when young married couples are having issues with deciding how to fix their relationship, -if there are any complications-, it can lead to separation or divorce.
An article in the Washington Post claims that almost 70 percent of heterosexual couples (who are not married) separate within the earliest five years. For couples who are married, it is estimated that 41 percent of them end in divorce, with successive marriages having an increased chance of failure. Could this be due to a neglect of conflict resolution between young married couples?
Considering how scary these statistics are, couples (married or not) can avoid relationship complications by finding common ground with their partners. It would help considerably to develop healthy resolution skills to be able to manage your relation correctly.
While there are no easy fixes to being in a healthy relationship, there are steps that you can take to establish safety when toxic vibes are about to present themselves. Listed below are tips for conflict management between young married couples that can provide a meaningful difference in a relationship:
Express your conflicts directly
Couples with relationship issues may exhibit characters that do not address the cause of the problem. A sad or depressed partner may become negatively expressive, rather than state their concerns directly. The same is said for a partner that resorts to anger when confronted with a problem; their reaction may aggravate the issue, creating more confusion for the parties involved.
Conflict resolution between young married couples would require both parties to express themselves in a firm and sincere manner directly. Once this has been achieved, a plan to resolve the conflict can be established.
Do play the blame card
Blaming your partner for issues you both are facing doesn’t make things any easier. This would only do more harm than good, especially if the person on the receiving end is feeling attacked. Rather than channel your anger on your partner or yourself, you both can work on finding a healthy, lasting solution to the issue on ground.
It will help if young married couples encouraged each other if either feels they are at fault. Partners should also ensure to watch the words they use to prevent any heated argument. This may require the use of words like “I feel” in sentences that maintain the point within the context of the discussion. You could start by saying, “I feel that you are overreacting to assume I’d cheat.” This takes away the tension that blaming a partner would exert while maintaining a lively discussion.
Young couples can use this approach to communicate better without doing more damages their each other’s feelings.
Maintain one argument at a time
While you are establishing the no-blame-feat, it is imperative to maintain your discussion with one argument at a time. Regrettably, when couples get into fights, lumping multiple concerns into a gigantic blowout isn’t uncommon.
When this happens between couples, the quest to solve the underlying issues are forgotten or lost. Couples who can sustain a conversation one argument at a time can have a shot at resolving conflicts in their relationship. This approach gives room for patience and understanding, which presents each partner the space to process how they feel. They can also use the time to provide positive answers that nudge them into the next issue (if any).
Stay open-minded
Couples who practice open-mindedness in their relationship have a higher advantage of resolving issues that benefits both parties. Conflict becomes escalated when couples give no room for flexibility in their relationship, making it difficult to meet each other halfway.
This dysfunction can be combated when couples learn to justify issues from an objective standpoint. Partners would have to put aside their ego and examine each other’s opinions without being bias. This positive step would allow young married couples to have a reasonable discussion and find ways to solve their issues. In other words, being open-minded is a good tool when it comes to conflict resolution between young married couples.
Communicate
This can’t be stressed enough, but couples who engage in healthy communication have a high success rate in their relationship. Healthy communication requires the need for partners to listen before responding. This helps couples address conflict easily without complicating matters further.
Partners need to learn how to pay close attention to their spouse’s concerns or feelings when expressing themselves. Questions might be thrown in occasionally to comprehend what the other person is talking about fully, but ensure they are genuine questions void of sarcasm.
If a partner isn’t reciprocating or is preoccupied with matters that aren’t related to the issues on ground, then the overall discussion would yield no logical conclusion. Incorporating perception checks & listening skills will prevent misunderstandings and deliver a strong foundation for resolving future conflicts.
Whether it’s a fresh marriage or a couple planning to take their relationship to the next level, partners can benefit greatly from counseling services that provide conflict resolution management. This can help couples break complicated grounds in their relationship.
Final thoughts on conflict resolution between young married couples
Koleolat believes that couples looking to resolve conflict in their relationship can take advantage of the privileges that counseling contributes to their affair, coupled with the Marriage and Family Therapy program.
Sources
5 CONFLICT RESOLUTION TIPS FOR COUPLES – ncu
