How to Survive Isolation With Your Partner and Yourself

Will your relationship survive staying at home?

Most governments have urged citizens to shelter in place to help flatten the curve of COVID-19. This has caused many to work from home, only leaving the household for essential services such as doctor’s appointments or grabbing groceries.

Initially, staying at home with your spouse for an indefinite amount of time might seem alright. Who better to isolate with than the one you love the most! But after a week you may start to notice that all of those cute things you loved about your spouse are now starting to irk you.

Yes, self-isolating at home is going to be a make or break moment for couples during the Coronavirus pandemic. If you’re under quarantine and want to keep your relationship strong and healthy, here are 7 tips to survive isolation with your partner and yourself.

Intimacy is key…

Whether emotional or physical, intimacy is what keeps you strong as a couple. 

The powerful oxytocin released during lovemaking has a bonding effect, while emotional intimacy helps you increase trust and empathy.

Now that you’ll be quarantining with one another for the foreseeable future, it’s important to keep building intimacy with one another.

You can do this by keeping up with date night.

Yes, you’re home together 24/7, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still plan at-home date nights. Get dressed up, cook a fancy dinner, and bust out a bottle of wine. Take fun couple’s quizzes online, dance, be intimate, and ask each other open-ended questions. These activities will strengthen your relationship during self-isolation.

Communicate openly, but don’t bring down morale…

Living through COVID-19 is probably the biggest thing that will ever happen in your lifetime, so it’s only natural to want to talk about it.

Partner communication is a healthy way to strengthen your relationship through self-isolation, but don’t let the coronavirus become the only topic of conversation. Communicate openly about how you’re feeling, but try not to let negativity seep into your relationship.

Have a game plan for stress…

Stress has a way of transforming the happiest of couples into nitpicking monsters. Why? Because for some reason, we tend to take our anxiety out on the ones we love the most.

Instead of letting stress and anxiety eat your relationship alive, make a game plan for how you’re going to handle stress.

• Make a safe word and use it when you start getting frustrated or feel your stress taking over. This will let your partner know that you’re feeling overwhelmed and can help them to comfort you.
• Do something relaxing every day
• Communicate openly with your spouse about how you’re feeling
• Stop reading the news/take a social media break
• Practice self-love and pampering during your time at home
• Make a conscious effort not to take your anxieties out on your partner

Make exercise a priority…

I feel confident in saying that I’m not the only one who has shamelessly eaten through my COVID-19 emergency snack stash way sooner than I thought. So, while we’re stuck at home, what better way to spend our time than by getting in shape with the one we love?

There are plenty of reasons to get up and active while quarantining. For a start, exercising keeps you accountable and motivated during a time when you don’t have much routine in your life.

Research published in the Official Journal of the Association of Medicine and Psychiatry reveals that exercising boosts your mental health by reducing depression, anxiety, and boosting positivity.

It’s fun to do with your spouse- Plus there are plenty of studies that show how exercising with your partner can inspire you to work out harder than you would normally.

Not to mention, exercising reduces stress and anxiety, which is a pretty big win for anyone who is feeling the crushing weight of COVID.

Find new things to do together…

Finding new things to do while you’re under quarantine with your partner will keep monotony from invading your relationship. Here are just some fun things you can do at home

• Learn a new hobby together
• Have a board game night
• Watch your favorite childhood movies together
• Start a couple’s podcast
• Make a blanket fort together
• Look up different sex positions and try a new one every day for two weeks
• Take an online cooking class
• Virtually volunteer
• Take an online class with your spouse
• Draw each other
• Write a story together
• Bake something
• Repaint a room
• Rearrange your furniture
• Do some spring cleaning
• Read a book together, taking turns reading it aloud
• Play hide and seek
• Take a bath together
• Make a goal list for the future
• Plan an amazing vacation

There is no shortage of things to do at home if you put your mind to it.

Take time for yourself…

It may sound mean to say “During the hours of X to X, I’m going to be off doing my own thing” at a time when the only company you have is each other, but trust us – alone time is going to be your savior during a couple’s quarantine.

Most couples are not used to spending every day together for weeks at a time, so taking time for yourself will allow you to practice your hobbies, listen to music or podcasts, read, hang out with friends virtually, and do whatever it is that makes you happy.

If you schedule in alone time each day, you’ll come back to your partner feeling refreshed and excited to hang out with them.

Don’t ignore the sunshine…

If you want to boost your relationship morale during COVID-19, do it by getting out in the sunshine through a daily walk or by hanging out in your back yard.

Studies show that the sun releases vitamin D, which can be synthesized in the skin. Just 30-minutes of sunshine can release 50,000 IU of vitamin D which helps promote bone and heart health, may reduce the risk of certain cancers, and significantly improves symptoms of depression (which will be beneficial to everyone right about now!)

The coronavirus pandemic is a scary and stressful time, but it doesn’t have to be the straw that broke your relationship. By communicating openly, finding ways to relieve stress, keeping your schedules interesting, and focusing on intimacy, you’ll be able to keep your relationship healthy throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

By Rachael Pace

Rachael Pace is a noted writer currently associated with Marriage.com. She provides inspiration, support, and empowerment in the form of her motivational articles and essays. Rachael enjoys studying about today’s evolving forms of loving partnerships and is passionate about writing on all types of romantic connections. She believes that everyone should make room for love in their lives and encourages couples to work on overcoming their challenges together.