Pressure can turn a rough stone into a diamond

Familiarity, they say, breeds contempt. And the familiarity which has been forced on many married couples in the 100 days of lockdown, has bred enough enmity to burst into the open in the sort of fights which end up in the divorce courts.

In Wuhan, the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic originated, applications for divorce doubled after their lockdown restrictions were lifted.

Psychologists say that fighting between couples at this strange time in history is not only not unusual, it is the natural response of human beings to being cooped up at home.

Sadly, many of those who complained there was not enough intimacy in their relationships are finding out there’s now too much.

It seems that you need to reconnect with your inner self and reclaim that person whose identity became lost in the pressure cooker of confinement.

And, as you re-assert your character and its traits, take the time to allow your partner to do the same and to learn to appreciate, anew, the qualities which drew you to him or her in the first place.

Looked at in that way, a little bit of pressure can turn a rough stone into a diamond.

If you survive lockdown together, then you’ll survive just about anything else.

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