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'UNHAPPY RELATIONSHIPS CAN BE PATCHED UP WITH THERAPY'

but also have a destructive effect on both individuals’ mental and physical health.

In the UAE, such problems are quite common among couples, mainly because several lead an isolated life. 'Couples in the UAE have to sort out their own problems as they are living away from families,' says Dr Mohammed Yousaf, a psychiatrist at Dr Moopen’s Clinic.

'This means that most of them have no one close to discuss their problems with, and the build up of negative emotions makes them unhappy,' he said, adding that taking professional help was still a taboo for many.

Dr Bahar Celen, Specialist in psychiatry at Belhoul European Hospital, says most people avoid facing their marital issues and expressing their unhappiness in order to 'keep peace'. 'This denial of truth does not minimise the couple’s problems but endangers their health and the future of their marriage,' Dr Celen said.

According to Dr Celen, bottling up feelings of anger, disappointment, mistrust or resentment causes depression, anxiety, sleep problems and physical complaints related to anxiety and depression such as palpitation, breathing difficulty, chest pain and choking sensation. Other symptoms include headaches, neck, shoulder, and back pain, digestive problems, increased stomach acidity, increased or decreased appetite and weight gain or loss.

Dr Yousaf says that such problems can be resolved only if the couple is cooperative. 'The emotional build-up is so great in most cases that the couple ends up blaming each other for their unsuccessful married life,' he said, adding that marital problems are among the most common reasons for depression in middle aged men and women.

Dr Celen says marital discord is one of the most prominent background issues in anxiety disorders in both genders. To ease the emotional pain, individuals may tend to abuse substances like alcohol, tranquilisers, pain killers and sleep medication.

Depression itself can cause tendencies like auto-immune diseases and infertility in women, coronary heart disease in men and skin diseases, obesity, and pain in both genders. 'Not being able to resolve relationship issues in the long run seriously endangers the health of both genders,' says Dr Celen.

In a relationship, Dr Celen says the number one ingredient that keeps couples together is success in resolving conflicts. 'Love goes far, but it is difficult to keep good feelings alive in the midst of strife,' Dr Celen says. In any situation, couple therapy helps to heal wounds of the relationship, find a new intimacy and move along further. However, relationship problems are not easy to resolve, even with therapy, due to the fact that people seeking professional help have waited much too long.