Greg DalyThis summer’s European Championships could lead to tensions between couples but difficulties can be headed off in advance, a leading Catholic marriage counsellor has said.
Commenting on warnings from Relationships Ireland that Euro 2016 could prove a breaking point for already troubled relationships, ACCORD’s Mary Johnson told The Irish Catholic that while the Catholic marriage care service does not collect data on such things, “anything really can cause stress and strain in a relationship, and either participation in or attendance at sporting events can cause strain and conflict in couples’ relationships because it can impact on their time together”.
Noting that finances can be a cause of tension, she said “if finances are strained in the family and somebody decides to use the finances to go to particular things, thus putting a strain on the budget, of course it will cause stress”.
Lack of time together, failure to share childcare and domestic duties, and excessive alcohol use could all lead to tension around the football championships, she explained.
“But we would be recommending that ideally in relationships, things have to be negotiated,” she said, advising this be done in advance.
“In all areas of life prevention is better than cure,” she said.