How Does External Stress Impact Relationship Dynamics?

Have you ever wondered why couples who are so in love and compatible break up?

Many people, celebrities, close friends, families, and even ourselves might have been there.

You fall in love, and you have such a good start, but as the relationship progresses, something happens that makes us realize that it’s not working out.

It’s not always about falling out of love.

Did you know that external stress has something to do with it?

What are the external pressures in relationships?

“Is it normal to fight in a relationship, and how does the external stressor connect with our misunderstandings?”

This is very important to learn if you want to understand how external stress affects your relationship.

Misunderstandings are normal and could even strengthen a couple, but stress in a relationship can aggregate them.

This is where external pressures come in.

External pressures in relationships can come from various sources and may include:

The expectations, influences, and stressors that come from the outside of the relationship are what you call external pressure.

External stress can come from many sources, like work, finances, social media, trust issues, career demands, cultural differences, and even your family and friends.

When you become stressed in the relationship due to these external pressures, you end up impacting the dynamics of your relationship.

How does external stress impact the dynamics of a relationship?

“How to avoid relationship stress? We promised not to allow external stress to affect us, but is this possible?”

As much as you want to, relationship stress will always be there.

External stress can disrupt the dynamics of a relationship and, in turn, could lead to communication strain, emotional tension, and an overall lack of balance.

External stressors can strain a relationship by causing tension, conflicts, communication barriers, emotional strain, less quality time, and even a change in priorities.

What are the external factors affecting relationships? 7 factors

“Is it normal for couples to argue because of these external stresses? What are these factors anyway?”

There could be many external factors affecting relationships, but we’ve listed seven common external factors that could greatly impact relationships:

1. Family dynamics

You or your partner’s family can greatly influence how you handle your relationship. Aside from this, if you belong to an extended family, other external issues could arise.

2. Social media

Technology is amazing, but it could also be an added external stress to a relationship. Hiding messages, flirting, distractions, and even less face-to-face interaction could affect your relationship.

3. Social and cultural influences

Cultural norms could also be one of the most common external stressors for couples. Gender roles, religious beliefs, expectations, and even cultural practices also affect one’s relationship.

4. Support systems

When we say external support systems, we’re talking about friends, co-workers, and family. Having supportive people around you who only want the best for you is beneficial, but what if you don’t have these people?

5. Work and life

Even work could cause external stress on relationships. Longer hours of work, take-home tasks, traveling, shifting schedules, and of course, a highly stressful environment will affect your and your partner’s lives.

6. Financial stability

Let’s be honest here, economic standing and financial stability can have a big impact on your relationship. Unemployment, for example, could cause a huge strain on your relationship.

7. Major life events

Let’s not forget major life events such as death, birth, moving to another city, promotion, and illnesses could have a huge impact on your relationship.

The transition could be hard for some couples, and instead of working it out, they end up being consumed by this external stress.

Now that you know the top seven external stress factors, you’d want to know how to help your partner with stress, right?

Some commonly asked questions 

Here are the answers to some pressing questions pertaining to the impact of external stress on relationships, which can help you deal with the situation better:

• What are the biggest triggers of stress in a relationship?

Wondering, “How often should you fight in a relationship due to triggers?”

Knowing external stress factors and the triggers will greatly help any couple pinpoint their challenges.

The biggest triggers of external stress will differ from each couple, but there are several common factors, and here are some of them.

1. Poor communication
2. Financial issues
3. Resentment due to unresolved issues
4. Lack of trust
5. Unequal distribution of responsibilities
6. Lack of intimacy
7. External stress triggers

Knowing this is important because this will help the couple or the one who is handling their relationship counseling to pinpoint the problem and find the proper solution.

Understanding that there are external stresses, triggers, and other challenges is just the start; there is still hope. Remember that learning how to deal with relationship stress can start by accepting that there is a problem.

Yet again, we’ve read about the importance of communication in a relationship. 

Listen to Terri Cole, a licensed psychotherapist and leading global expert in female empowerment, as she talks about being defensive and learning how to listen.

• How can outside stress affect relationships?

“I don’t know how to handle stress in a relationship. I’m afraid.”

Being informed is a great way to protect your relationship from future challenges due to external stress.

Remember that outside stress can have a huge impact on your relationship by affecting how you communicate, start a conflict, and even create emotional distance.

What happens after that?

People who start experiencing these challenges may feel drained, full of resentment, overwhelmed, and irritable.

All of these could take a toll on the person, causing more arguments, reduced or lack of intimacy, and an overall sense of disconnection that will lead to falling out of love.

This is why you and your partner should know how external stress works and how it could affect your lives and relationships.

From there, it will be easier to find common ground and agree on a course of action, such as relationship counseling.

In a nutshell

No matter how hard you try, external stress will always be there.

So, should we just give up on our relationship? Definitely not!

Equip yourselves with knowledge, and from there, know how to work around the issues through communication, intimacy, and commitment.

If these steps fail, then you can seek professional help.

What you need to do is to know how to handle the issues arising from external stress and work together to find a solution.