5 tips for managing anxiety in relationship when your spouse is not preventative during Covid-19

When it comes to Covid-19 and sheltering at home, we’re all dealing with it in our own ways.

Some people are becoming extra productive, using their downtime to write a novel and deep clean the pantry, while others consider it a triumph to shower daily, while some are attending to their hygiene and health with surgical precision, while others feel the suggested precautions are utter nonsense.

What do you do if you and your partner have very different ways of approaching a crisis—what if you’re anxious about catching the virus, but your partner is not?

First, talk it out and see if any of your partner’s behaviors can shift. Then, regardless of how much or how little they have changed, work on altering your own feelings and perceptions.

Here are the 5 tips for managing anxiety in relationship when your spouse is not preventative during Covid-19:

1. There isn’t a perfect approach to safety

There are many different opinions and varying advice about how to approach this crisis, managing anxiety in relationships and even though your point of view seems ideal, others may have validity.

2. Separate from each other physically

If necessary for your health or for your anxiety, separate from them a bit more physically. If possible, ask them to wash before entering the house, shower daily, even sleep in a separate room.

3. Reframe your interpretation

Often we take others’ actions personally, in this case feeling that their lack of anxiety over the virus means they don’t care about our fear or our health. Instead, it’s likely that they feel their approach is the most logical and reasonable, and believe that they are in no way harming you.

4. Focus on yourself

For coping with anxiety, allow them to do things their way while you concentrate on and take care of yourself. Your hygiene habits will go a long way toward protecting you.

5. Let go of the romanticized idea

One of the tips for managing anxiety is to let go of the romanticized idea that you can influence your partner to the point that they will do what you want them to.