How To Keep Your Relationship Healthy This Halloween Season

The spooky season is upon us. It's that time of year where many supernatural things will be occuring. Mysteriously shutting doors, creaky floorboards in the middle of the night, your relationship falling apart at the seams. Fortunately for you, not all of these are inevitable! The four horsemen of the apocalypse are going to try and tear you and your boo apart, and we're going to teach you how to fight back! Group 9

1. Criticism

Verbally attacking your partners personality or character is exactly what the horsemen want you to do. Don't do it though! This is something that will forsure put your relationship in a grave.

2. Counteracting criticism

Instead, focus on the positive. Try compliments instead of critiques.

3. Contempt

Contempt involves statements or nonverbal behaviors that put oneself in an elevated position from ones partner and often includes ridicule, put-downs, and sarcasm.

4. Stonewalling

5. Defensiveness

Defensiveness occurs when someone feels personally attacked and feels they must justify their actions in a harsh way in order to get the other person to back off. Don’t play the victim!

6. Doing away with the defensiveness

Resisting the urge to defend yourself may not always be easy but, it is do-able. There are many ways to go about fighting your defensiveness. One of the best to help you can be through working on self reflection and sacrifice. By doing this, you will not only become more self aware but you will be saving your relationship from one of those damn Horsemen!

7. Stonewalling

A stonewall makes for a good background for that totally Halloweeny insta pic, but it doesnt make for a good way to communicate. Stonewalling is when you completely shut down when communicating to your partner. Stonewalling will make sure that your relationship comes crumbling down like broken stones.

8. Stonewalling SUCKS

Instead of shutting down, try opening up to your partner. Tell them why you’re upset and communicate how you don’t actually like candy corn, or vent about how sexist some costumes are, or tell them that no matter what they may think, nobody is ever too old to go trick or treating. Whatever you do, just talk to them!