Mari's Journaling Power Blog | Creative Journaling

Tips for Handling Relationship Stress With In-Laws

Relationships are much like those famous Imperial Russian Faberge eggs – they can be incredibly beautiful but fragile. Handled with care, though, they can last more than a lifetime.

There are many things that can influence your relationship with a spouse or significant other, but few are as powerful as in-laws. For better or for worse, they can bring to your relationship an entirely different dynamic that can be hard to resist or ignore. In fact, surveys have revealed that in-law-induced stress is tied with work-related stress for having the most detrimental impact on spousal relationships. Fitting into a new family can be problematic, especially if you’re close to your own, which can lead to all kinds of active and passive tension. Regardless of how you feel about them, once you have in-laws you have to learn to deal with them, somehow and someway.