THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH

While happiness and contentment in relationships can ebb and flow, you can sustain happiness by keeping it fresh and interesting...

- Atlehang Ramathesele

In her paper titled Is the 7-Year Itch a Myth or Reality? social psychologist and relationship scientist, Theresa E. DiDonato describes the ‘Seven-Year Itch’ as a phenomenon where romantic partners reach a point of reckoning and tumult after seven years together. It’s a time when couples tend to take stock of their relationship and determine a way forward. “They either realise that their relationship isn’t working, or they feel deeply satisfied and committed to their relationship,” she says.

There’s no doubt that feeling unfulfilled in a long-term relationship is possible, but it often happens sooner or later, depending on how well you connect with each other. Many factors contribute to this, like misalignment with life goals and being overburdened with responsibilities, which can lead to a feeling of burnout. Intimacy and relationship coach, Tracy Ziman Jacobs believes that there are ways to maintain a happy relationship and to be able to find each other without stagnating. A spark of life can never be extinguished, but it requires effort to keep it burning. Here’s what you need to do:

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