Is Your Marriage in a Funk? Here Are 5 Tips to Strengthen Your Marriage Now!

Life can get in the way of maintaining strength and love in a marriage. The stresses of work, raising children, surviving a pandemic and other obligations can dull the romance and mutual support in a marriage.

If you feel your marriage relationship has changed, or you’re struggling with a loss of intimacy and friendship, here are five areas you and your spouse can focus on to strengthen your marriage. You can rebuild the relationship you have treasured together.
 

Here Are 5 Tips That Can Strengthen Your Marriage Now:

Both partners need to commit to restoring the marriage and invest time and effort to resolve the issues affecting your relationship. You need to do this together. Here are some tips to help you build a stronger relationship.
 

1. Acknowledge and Respect Changes in Your Spouse

People naturally change over time.

Make a list of the qualities you truly admire in your spouse to remind yourself why you married this wonderful person. Share them with your spouse. Recognizing, understanding and adapting to those changes is essential to your relationship.

Let your partner know every day you appreciate what they do. Compliment them and say “thank you”. Make it a habit to express appreciation in your marriage.

Be encouraging to your spouse. Help them feel good about themselves. No matter what changes they have gone through or are going through, let them know your affection and support are something they can count on all the time and in the time to come.
 

2. Talk Together Often

Make time to talk.

It sounds easy at first, but with our busy modern lives, it may need to be a scheduled event these days. Reserve it as an untouchable part of every week — a “date night” or a time you can be together without distractions and touch base about your life, activities, dreams, frustrations and feelings.

Share what you feel to find clarity about the issues you face, both individually and as a couple. Sharing builds intimacy and deeper understanding.

Your spouse will be able to chime in, be supportive, give advice and ideas, and share their own similar goals. This practice can benefit both of you and bring you closer together as a couple.
 

Let your partner know every day you appreciate what they do.

 
Research done by John Gottman focused on happy couples and found that when there was a disagreement, they focused on issues that could be solved sooner rather than later and talked about those instead of focusing on problems that couldn’t be resolved right away.

Their level of affection and friendship gave them the strength and sense to have this clear communication and focus. As a result, long-term issues were not allowed the opportunity to resurface and to grow to be a constant unsolved topic of frustration.
 

3. Reminisce Your Marriage Together…and With Family

Go down memory lane once in a while.

Recall moments like how you met, what you talked about in early conversations, activities you did together and places you loved. If you can, revisit these unique places — and take the kids.

Visit the place where you were married and share details of the day. Go to a favorite restaurant you frequented in the past. Tell stories about the good times you had there. Stop by the place where your marriage proposal took place.
 

Both partners need to commit to restoring the marriage and invest time and effort to resolve the issues affecting your relationship.

 
If you cannot travel to these sites, share photos and stories of your marriage. These details are part of the foundation of your relationship, and they can be an important building block for your future together.

You will enjoy reliving these details, and your family members will always treasure these beautiful memories. Then, go out and make more memories! Keep creating great stories and you will continue to strengthen your marriage bond!
 

4. Do Something New Together

One great way to deepen a relationship is to do something new together.

Take a class like yoga, a dance class or cook together. You could volunteer and work for a cause that’s important to both of you.

Doing something new as a couple can build the feeling of being united, and it gives you new things to share with each other. You are functioning as a team, sharing fresh moments together, strengthening your marriage bond.

Love Is an Action Verb: 3 Experiences for Couples to Keep the Romantic Fire Blazing
 

5. Maintain a Foundation of Affection and Friendship

Come up with kind things you can do for your spouse. For example, bring home a favorite movie, snack, meal, or flowers your spouse enjoys. Make it a priority to routinely express your affection for your spouse and demonstrate you’re actively thinking of ways to bring them pleasure.

Couples should take some time to cuddle together each day. It can help partners improve their relationship and bring them closer, reminding them of their physical needs and affection for each other.
 

Creating a stronger physical bond promotes a stronger emotional bond.

 
It also releases oxytocin, a “feel good” chemical. Creating a stronger physical bond promotes a stronger emotional bond that will deepen your connection every day and strengthen your marriage.

Talk about sex also. Share what you like, dislike, desires and fantasies…couples who talk about intimate topics are more likely to have happier, longer-lasting relationships.

10 Practical Tips to Express Your Sexual Desires to Your Partner
 
 

Improve and Strengthen Your Marriage – Together

These recommendations are just the tip of the iceberg to help strengthen your marriage. Based on your unique relationship with your spouse, you will likely be able to think up ideas for many similar practices that will strengthen the loving foundation upon which your marriage is based.

It is up to you, as a couple, to brainstorm what you want and need in your relationship and do what it takes to get there.

Why wait? Start now. You will thank each other for it!

Did any of these ideas resonate with you? Or better yet, what have you done to strengthen your marriage or relationship? Please share with us in the comments below – we love hearing from you!