Fighting with your partner is not always a bad thing. There are positive spin-offs to scrapping!
Let’s face it, fights happen in any relationship. Whether it’s your parents, your siblings, your BFF or your partner, there are occasions when we end up fighting with those we love most. And naturally, the person we fight withmost is our partner. Why? Because we are closest to him, and if we are living together, chances are he’s the person we see most. So it’s but natural that we get on each other’s nerves at times, or dislike some annoying habit of his and we end up having a scrap.
But you know what? Fighting is healthy. Not abusive fighting where physical force is used. Not emotional or verbal abuse either. But the occasional slanging match, temper tantrum or the ‘let’s talk’ that spirals into an argument, is fine. Here’s five reasons why fighting with your partner helps to boost your relationship.
Get to know and trust each other better
This especially works in the early days of a relationship when you still don’t know each other well enough. It helps you to get to know each other and your respective aspirations for the relationship. It builds trust. A constructive fight – where partners don’t call each other names – can help clear the air. Often, your partner doesn’t know what is on your mind. Sometimes it takes an argument for all those hidden feelings to come out. The more you know about each other, the deeper your levels of trust. It also means that you are being honest and upfront with each other. What better way to deepen trust?
It improves your relationship
Sometimes it takes a fight to know what’s on your partner’s mind, or for him to know what’s bugging you. Once these conflict minefields are out in the open, both partners are aware of what they are doing wrong in a relationship. Or else, once they cool down, they are able to talk it out and reach a compromise. Either way, it helps to strengthen your bond and also reflect on where you went wrong.
You feel better
Letting off steam is always good. Not in an abusive way though! When you have unresolved issues in your head, it weighs you down; it affects your relationships, not only with your partner but with those around you. It affects your mood and even your productivity. Once you’ve had your say, you will feel so much lighter, so much better. You’re relieved of the stress of carrying things inside you.
You can look back and laugh
Some fights can be totally absurd – we’ve all been there and done that. Some silly issue can get blown out of proportion. Occasionally, one of you will behave foolishly; you could end up sobbing over a non-issue. You and your partner will look back on that fight and share a few chuckles. A guaranteed way to bond better!
You don’t take each other for granted
It happens, always. Taking each other for granted. As comfort levels increase, as the years go by, we fall into a pattern and get stuck in a rut. We think we know each other and never aspire to evolve the relationship. You may be feeling stuck; you may not like it that your partner never comes home on time or takes you for a holiday or surprises you with gifts anymore. That simmering resentment will come out in a fight and it’s an eye-opener for your partner. It helps to salvage the relationship from a stagnant rut.