Downtime Fun Time: 5 De-Stressing Activities for Couples

We all have different ways of coping with stress. Some people like to pour their hearts out on paper, scribbling away their frustrations on their journal. Some like to immerse themselves in a project, may it be learning a new language, creating a new cookie recipe, or taking up music lessons. Some prefer to rant about their entire day to take the load off.

I used to do all those things at one point or another, but when I got married, I realized that my coping mechanism changed--I took it all out on my husband.

At first, I would nitpick at little things. I would get mad because he's a couple of minutes late or because he forgot to turn off the PC. On really bad days, these would morph into full-blown arguments.

Neither of us were happy campers, and I needed to do something about it. After all, no one deserves to be anyone's punching bag, figuratively speaking or not. I wasn't proud of what I was doing, but somehow, being mad about anything and everything at home became my first impulse whenever things weren't going well. Heck, I wouldn't even want to live with myself.

I realized that my attitude wasn't healthy for me nor for my husband. I was sick of fighting, and I needed to do something about it. I have to admit, recovery is a long and arduous process. I still go gaga over the little things sometimes. But then I figured, why should I take it all out on my poor husband when we could de-stress together? Instead of biting each other's heads off, why not do something relaxing whenever you're both feeling under the weather?

At present, here are the top five things that I and my husband are doing to de-stress. Do you and your man have a favorite R & R activity? Let us know by leaving a comment!

(Photo by Ben Luckman via Flickr Creative Commons)