The beginning of a new year presents a unique opportunity for us to reflect on our relationships and focus on the year ahead. 

 

The stress of the Christmas season is notorious for highlighting issues in relationships, which can put pressure on you as a couple. Simmering tensions can boil over and new issues can arise, piling on the pressure at a time that can already be tricky.

 

January is often called ‘Divorce Month' due to the stress of Christmas and the culmination of any issues that have been bubbling under the surface during the previous year. In 2024, 20,769 applications were made for sole divorces (where one spouse initiates proceedings alone) in January and 7,139 applications were made for joint divorces (where both parties initiate the proceedings).

 

If there is strain on your relationship and issues that haven't been resolved yet, January is the ideal month to give space to thinking about how these issues can be resolved, what you want to achieve as a couple, and as an individual and February is the month to celebrate and reinforce that love.

 

January - time to reflect and reset

No doubt you've heard the age old saying ‘New Year, New You', and we often make wild resolutions in our professional and personal lives in light of this, but we can often forget one important thing that we should be evaluating and trying to improve on, our romantic relationship. 

Check in with each other

Start off 2025 by having an open conversation together about where you both stand as a couple. It will probably feel very strange at first if it's not something you're used to doing, but it's important to be honest with each other. A few pointers you can start with are; discussing what has been working well and what hasn't and what areas of your relationship could use more attention.

 

Share your goals

This could be anything from organising more date nights together to travelling more. It could even be to take time for yourselves as well, which is equally as important as spending time together. 

 

Whatever you talk about during this check in session, make sure you discuss how you can support each other in these goals and how you can work as a team. Of course, if you need help with discussing this between the two of you, you can call on my services and I can help orchestrate the discussion. Just get in touch.

 

February - the month of love

February is the perfect month to prioritise your relationship, and not just with a tacky card and a bunch of flowers from the petrol station. But truly working on your relationship in a meaningful way.

Make time

While January was about sitting down and talking about your relationship and goals, February is the month where you can put it all to the test. If you agreed to spend more time together, why not kick this off in February by going on regular walks, take part in a craft or hobby together or start practicing little acts of kindness and thoughtfulness to help show how much you care for each other.

 

Show appreciation

Words of affirmation, acts of kindness, showing appreciation and other small gestures all go a long way to maintaining intimacy and trust in a relationship and February is the perfect month to practice this. See how it works out and think about how you can maintain this for the rest of the year.

 

Don't forget to show yourself some love too

You can't expect to maintain a strong relationship without a strong foundation, ie; yourself. Practice self care and carve out time for yourself in order to feel good and be your best self, allowing you to show up as the best partner that you can be.

 

Setting yourself up for the rest of the year

Taking this time in January and February to reflect on your relationship, set goals and show each other how much you care will help set the tone for the rest of the year and help create a solid foundation for a healthy relationship.

If you would like to benefit from counselling, whether that's individually or as a couple, you can get in touch  with me to discuss your needs.