S1, E10: Top Pandemic Relationship Tips

Relationships clearly are under duress right now. In this season-closing episode, Christine and Jonathan share their top pandemic relationship tips to help you communicate better and thrive in your relationships. Hello Relationships is a podcast to help you focus on common issues in relationships to stop small aggravations from becoming big problems so you can learn to grow and communicate better, whether that's with a partner, your family, friends, or co-workers. Connect with Christine and Jonathan at Hello Relationships, via email at [email protected], or on Facebook (@hellorelationships) and Instagram (@hellorelationships). 

What happens when you feel like you're doing all (or most of) the work in a relationship? Workload imbalance is not a new issue but the demands that the pandemic has put on people has elevated this situation to a new level. Jonathan and Christine talk about how to handle and communicate about workload imbalance, both from an internal perspective and also tactically. They discuss internal awareness, recalibrating around to-do lists, communicating about how people process information, dealing with mind-reader syndrome, and actively working on helping everyone get one thing they need in a day. Hello Relationships is a podcast to help you focus on common issues in relationships to stop small aggravations from becoming big problems so you can learn to grow and communicate better, whether that's with a partner, your family, friends, or co-workers. Connect with Christine and Jonathan at Hello Relationships, via email at [email protected], or on Facebook (@hellorelationships) and Instagram (@hellorelationships).

Though it's natural and inevitable, change can be unsettling, whether that's a change in a romantic relationship or friendship, or a job that has turned into something you didn't expect. Jonathan and Christine talk about how to handle changing relationships, whichever side of the change you're on. They discuss reframing your thinking about change, and tactics for how to operate in changing relationships in a way that feels loving and authentic while still having room to move. Hello Relationships is a podcast to help you focus on common issues in relationships to stop small aggravations from becoming big problems so you can learn to grow and communicate better, whether that's with a partner, your family, friends, or co-workers. Connect with Christine and Jonathan at Hello Relationships, via email at [email protected], or on Facebook (@hellorelationships) and Instagram (@hellorelationships).

What do you do when you and a family member have conflicting political views? It can get really ugly. Christine and Jonathan address a listener request and talk about how to draw boundaries around political conversations. They talk about what it means to set boundaries and how to find space to operate in the space between absorbing the confrontation and walking out the door. They also talk about "and" statements, the importance of communicating about values, and other basic self-care practices to prep you for conversations.

Whether it's due to masks, politics, science, or protests, right now is a time that's ripe with getting angry at people you don't know personally. How do you manage feelings and frustration with these "non-personal relationships"? Jonathan and Christine talk about the dimensions of anger and how to cope with conflict at a distance so you can move forward instead of stew in the anger. Hello Relationships is a podcast to help you focus on common issues in relationships to stop small aggravations from becoming big problems so you can learn to grow and communicate better, whether that's with a partner, your family, friends, or co-workers. Connect with Christine and Jonathan at Hello Relationships, via email at [email protected], or on Facebook (@hellorelationships) and Instagram (@hellorelationships). 

Doom spirals happen, whether they're triggered by terrible headlines or personal situations. Christine and Jonathan respond to a listener who asked the question, how do you get yourself—or a loved one—moving in the middle of a doom spiral? Christine and Jonathan talk about how to recognize and deal with doom spirals in yourself, as well as how to cope when a loved one gets stuck. Hello Relationships is a podcast to help you focus on common issues in relationships to stop small aggravations from becoming big problems so you can learn to grow and communicate better, whether that's with a partner, your family, friends, or co-workers. Connect with Christine and Jonathan at Hello Relationships, via email at [email protected], or on Facebook (@hellorelationships) and Instagram (@hellorelationships).  

What do you do in a relationship when one person is an introvert and the other is an extrovert? This scenario is really common, whether it's at home, work, or with friends. Jonathan and Christine talk about introvert and extrovert qualities and how to express yourself as an introvert or extrovert. They also discuss how to value personality differences and use awareness of those differences to thrive together.

These days we only see 42% of people's faces and sometimes hug through shower curtains. How do we make relationships satisfying when the pandemic makes everything weird? Jonathan and Christine talk about dealing with feelings of loss, sadness, and loneliness. They also discuss why it's important to embrace small contact points, reset with gratitude, and find creative ways to connect. Hello Relationships is a podcast to help you focus on common issues in relationships to stop small aggravations from becoming big problems so you can learn to grow and communicate better, whether that's with a partner, your family, friends, or co-workers. Connect with Christine and Jonathan at Hello Relationships, via email at [email protected], or on Facebook (@hellorelationships) and Instagram (@hellorelationships). 

When you're stuck in conflict, how does everyone get a little bit of what they want? Christine and Jonathan talk about how to work together to navigate disagreements, the importance of energy management through conflict, how to respect one person's autonomy while asking for what you need, the reality of do-overs, and more. Hello Relationships is a podcast to help you focus on common issues in relationships to stop small aggravations from becoming big problems so you can learn to grow and communicate better, whether that's with a partner, your family, friends, or co-workers. Connect with Christine and Jonathan at Hello Relationships, via email at [email protected], or on Facebook (@hellorelationships) and Instagram (@hellorelationships).

Jonathan and Christine discuss how the simple tactic of focusing on process (and apparently pretzels!) can resolve misunderstandings. They talk about how to avoid the dreaded doom spiral when a misunderstanding starts to grow, and why it's crucial to identify the different ways in which people process information using a neutral example. Hello Relationships is a podcast to help you focus on common issues in relationships to stop small aggravations from becoming big problems so you can learn to grow and communicate better, whether that's with a partner, your family, friends, or co-workers. Connect with Christine and Jonathan at Hello Relationships, via email at [email protected], or on Facebook (@hellorelationships) and Instagram (@hellorelationships).