Marriage Counseling Insights brought to you by California Psychotherapeutic Resources, Inc.

The old joke about spouses entering retirement is that they signed up for life, but not for lunch. It’s a bit of humor that draws on the insight that spending too much time with anyone — even somebody you love dearly — can create a tension all its own.

Enter the pandemic. Now we work from home, manage our kids’ online learning, turn to Zoom happy hours — all in close contact sometimes 24/7 with your spouse. What could go wrong? As we’re finding out — plenty.

Kelsey Borresen, writing for the Huffington Post, cites experts in the field, saying “Maybe you’ve found yourself flipping out on your partner over a pile of dishes in the sink. That strong reaction may have less to do with the messy kitchen itself and more to do with mounting pandemic-related stress you’ve been trying to suppress.”

What are the leading causes of stress that couples are dealing with during the pandemic? See if these issues sound familiar:

• Finances
• Risk-taking
• Lack of alone time
• In-person schooling (or not) for the kids
• Support from your partner
• The blame game

Want to read more about each of these issues? Get the full story here.