Solvable vs. Perpetual Problems in Intimate Relationships

Dr Stacey
January 21, 2021

Being in an intimate relationship for the long haul is both challenging and demanding. As you and your spouse encounter new experiences and grow through the journey of life, the challenge of maintaining an intimate and rewarding relationship becomes very real. It’s so easy to get lost in the busyness of day-to-day life that the stresses of dealing with family, earning a living, and managing a household can often leave couples with no space for themselves or their relationships. All long-term relationships inevitably encounter issues over time. Couples may find themselves arguing more and communicating less or living separate emotional lives.

Problems in Intimate Relationships

How couples manage the problems in their relationships is a key aspect to long-term relationship success. Based on the work of renowned marriage experts John and Julie Gottman, this article explores some basic key understandings essential to managing problems in your intimate relationships.

The Gottman’s make a useful and liberating distinction between solvable problems in a relationship and what they call perpetual problems. While many of us started out our committed relationships with the assumption that as we “grow old together” our differences will melt away, the reality is very far from the truth.

Research conducted by the Gottman Institute indicates that 69% of problems that couples have conflict about are actually perpetual or unsolvable problems. These kinds of problems are unique to each couple and are based on core differences between the couple, hinging on personality or lifestyle requirements.

For instance, if your partner is very extroverted and enjoys socializing and you are more of an introvert and homebody, these differences could repeatedly generate conflict. When these issues are mishandled, the conflict can become what Gottman terms “gridlocked” with a couple discussing these issues repeatedly but getting nowhere. This cycle of unsolvable perpetual conflict can ultimately lead to emotional disconnection.

The crucial concept to keep in mind with these situations is that they are not solvable. You are no sooner going to turn your partner into a solitude seeker as you are going to become a party animal. The key to managing these kinds of problems is creating an emotionally connected space for actively coping with these issues. The aim should be to create opportunities for dialogue around the perpetual problem from a space of acceptance, understanding, affection and possibly even humor.

A healthy dialogue around these issues can result in you and your partner recognizing and accepting each other’s needs and quirks and allowing room for them in your lives. That might look like embracing your partner’s need to go out with friends and perhaps even joining sometimes.

What’s so exciting about this concept of perpetual problems is that it creates a space within relationships for accepting differences, and recognizes the entirely normal reality that most of us will continue to butt heads with our partners over certain issues, for many years to come.

On the other hand, the problems that are in our control are those that are simply situational. Solvable problems relate to issues such as managing housework, approaches to child rearing and extended family relationships. These kinds of issues are unique to the couple and can be resolved in a sustainable way.

From the perspective of Gottman, what is more significant than solving problems is ensuring that couples have a shared system of meaning underpinning their relationship. Developing a shared vision for the relationship, and the emotional intelligence and skills for managing conflict are far more significant than any resolution of conflict.

When a partnership is characterized by this shared meaning, any conflicts are inevitably less intense and partners will not enter into a gridlocked space. So when you find yourself bashing heads with your partner remember this basic wisdom and approach any conflict from a place of shared affection and commitment.

Dr Stacey

Dr. Stacey Leibowitz-Levy is a highly experienced psychologist with a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology (Cum Laude) and a PhD in the area of stress and its relation to goals and emotion. She works with adults, teens and children within her areas of expertise.