Having an injury can be an extremely stressful and traumatizing event, as not only does the injury affect your body, but also your mental and emotional health as well. After the injury, therapy and medication can help in your recovery, but the time it takes for you to get back to your normal self is not always the same with others. Recovery takes time, patience, and a lot of effort. This is why recovery from an injury might be challenging when you are in a relationship, since after the injury the question on how do you stay in a relationship is often something you have to consider.
If you are in a relationship and you had an injury, there are various factors you may have to consider in order to help yourself and your partner cope with your situation. This means having certain adjustments to your daily routine or even having certain compromises about parts of your relationship. Being aware of these things as early as possible can greatly help you and your partner decide on the course of your relationship in the near future.
While relationships can be a source of happiness for everyone, it is also just as capable of letting us experience regret and sadness. It is not always about “happy ever afters” and “fairy tale weddings,” as keeping the love alive in the long-term is still a challenge.
According to Psychology Today, 41% and 60% of first and second marriages, respectively, can end in divorce. This can be primarily due to a variety of reasons such as a mismatch of what to expect from partners, living stresses, or even when the partners fail to be there for one another. This means having an injury can make it a challenge to maintain a relationship, as not only does the injured partner have to get healed, but they have to maintain the relationship as well. If you or a partner has become injured, the question remains: after the injury, how do you stay in a relationship?
Listening Is Key
Remember, having a personal injury can be an extremely traumatizing experience in a relationship, because you are affected on both ends. Regardless if you are the injured party or if you are in a relationship with someone who is, there is bound to be certain adjustments on either side. These adjustments are much easier to do if you stay with your partner, hear what they have to say, and listen to them.
- When you listen, it does not necessarily mean just “listen” to their words. Rather, also listen to their body language and facial expressions. Is your partner becoming open or slowly closed? What do you think they are feeling?
- It is not also just about “knowing” what they feel, it is important to know the nature of their injury as well. You can best understand your partner in this situation if you know what has happened to them. Ask if you can come with them to their consultations, so you are aware of the kind of care you can provide your partner.
Empathy Is Essential
When you think you have understood the nature of the injury and how this can affect your partner, it is also important to empathize with them. However, one of the best ways to understand how you can empathize with them is to understand how you at first feel about their situation. Are you capable of staying with your partner in this situation? Sometimes, you can feel frustrated or helpless, since you can only stay there with them, but sometimes your presence is a powerful motivator.
- Your first instinct in times like these is to probably give advice or try to solve the problem, but this might not immediately work with injuries. In fact, insisting on doing so might make things a lot worse than they are.
- Try to be more emotionally engaging to your partner as they need more moral support for now. If you feel as though you are having trouble in this department, feel free to consult a professional.
Action Is Important
Now that you have known what there is to know about the injury and how you and your partner feel about the situation, it is important to see how you can act upon these factors. The next step in the process is being able to commit to both internal and external actions in order to help address the concerns and needs of your partner. This is important, as you need to make sure you are doing this out of respect and care and not out of pity.
- Try to talk with your partner about your plans about recovery if you have been injured or talk to them about your plans to help if you are the partner of an injured person. Making intentions clear can greatly help ease confusion and misunderstanding on both sides.
- Make sure to commit to what you have set out to do and always engage with one another. Is there something that can be improved or is there something that can be done to help the injured partner be more independent without making the injured partner feel inept?
Conclusion
After the injury, “how do you stay in a relationship?” tends to be a question that can have a lot of responses. The tips above may be of use to you, especially if you are in doubt as to how your partner and yourself will be able to cope with your injuries and make your relationship stable at the same time. However, just because you have an injury does not mean it is over for your relationship. Perhaps you just have to make certain adjustments along the way in order to ensure your relationship stability over time is ensured.
If you have difficulties after an injury, especially if you have concerns about staying in a relationship after such an event, perhaps it is also a good option to talk with a psychiatrist or a professional. After all, the tips above are not the be-all, end-all solutions for coping in a relationship after an injury, as there are a lot of factors involved when it comes to recovering from an injury.
Laura Billings is a law enthusiast and budding writer. She makes it a habit of making sure her pieces are informative enough to help even the common person understand important aspects of the rules of law Laura likes to read books and write creative pieces during her free time.
