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Keeping your Relationship Fresh As COVID-19 Lingers On

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If you’ve been living with your significant other during the COVID-19 pandemic, it probably hasn’t been easy. It has nothing to do with your love for one another, it’s been tough for everyone. When you are both seeing friends and family less, cooped up in the house, it changes the dynamic of the relationship.

To keep everything right between the two people in the relationship, it is imperative to keep it fresh. It can be difficult when date nights are kept indoors and the atmosphere is confined to your home. Still there are ways to keep long-term relationships fresh and make sure that your love stays alive during this difficult time.

Plan Activities

One of the most important things to do for your relationship is to plan activities together. While you might have a lot of free time, you should utilize it and make plans to do things in the evenings and on the weekends. Of course there are less things to do, but if you take a hike, have a picnic, play a game, or do something else, you’ll have new things to talk about. Not only does planning activities spark conversation, it will keep the flame alive.

Spend Some Time Apart

Spending time doing activities is crucial, but so is spending time apart. Create your own space where you can go to be alone if your partner is home, but you should also plan to go out alone. All the activities you can do together you can do apart as well. You can take walks alone. You can see friends for physically distanced visits. You can take a drive. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you’re doing but that you’re doing it. Stay appreciative of each other by spending some much-needed time apart.

Make Staying Home Special

Even when you’re simply staying home together, you should do your best to make it special. Have a movie night. Dress up for dinner. Splurge and order take out that you love. Share a bottle of wine. There are so many ways to make each night special, even if you’re staying in. It may seem silly to get dressed up to stay home, but if you create a mood with nice clothes, candles, and special meals, you’ll feel like you did something different. Take up baking! Teach each other something! It isn’t hard if you try to make every day and night a little different.

Shake it Up in the Bedroom

Of course another way to keep your relationship new is to keep the bedroom fresh. Talk about trying new things and giving them a shot. Try role playing if you don’t feel too silly. Get intimate at new times and in new ways. You can even take a look at sex toys and accessories. When you take the time to buy a vibrator sex toy or something else, you will shake up your sex life and keep the relationship vibrant.

Talk About the Future

Finally, another way to keep the relationship new is to talk about the future. Life has felt like it’s on hold since the COVID-19 pandemic began, but that’s not true. Life will go on no matter what until we die. Not only can you make COVID-safe plans for the near-future, you can talk about the future after the virus is under control. Of course the “when this is over” mindset isn’t a good way to go about this, talking about ideas for your future together will give you some hope and will brighten up the relationship.

It hasn’t been easy over the last year. Living with a partner can be difficult when you can’t do things in public and don’t see as many people as you used to. Still, you’d probably be with the person you love the most than alone during this anxious and stressful time. Dedicate yourself to keeping your relationship alive and injecting it with passion and romance. These are just a few ideas to do that, but you can also come up with your own. Putting in the effort is the key. If both of you are trying to make sure that you are happy and in love, you will be okay. You will get through this together. 

Michelle has been a part of the journey ever since Bigtime Daily started. As a strong learner and passionate writer, she contributes her editing skills for the news agency. She also jots down intellectual pieces from categories such as science and health.

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Lifestyle

The Missing Piece in Self-Help? Why This Book is Changing the Wellness Game

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Self-help shelves are full of advice — some of it helpful, some of it recycled, and most of it focused on “mindset.” But Rebecca Kase, LCSW and founder of the Trauma Therapist Institute, is offering something different: a science-backed, body-first approach that explains why so many people feel struck, overwhelmed, or burned out — and what they can actually do about it.

A seasoned therapist and business leader, Kase has spent nearly two decades teaching others how to navigate life through the lens of the nervous system. Her newest book, “The Polyvagal Solution,” set to release in May 2025, aims to shake up the wellness space by shifting the focus away from willpower and onto biology. If success has felt out of reach — or if healing has always seemed like a vague concept — this book may be the missing link.

A new way to understand stress and healing

At the heart of Kase’s approach is polyvagal theory, a neuroscience-based framework that helps explain how our bodies respond to safety and threat. Developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, polyvagal theory has transformed the way many therapists understand trauma, but Kase is bringing this knowledge to a much wider audience.

“The body always tells the truth,” Kase says. “If you’re anxious, exhausted, or always in overdrive, your nervous system is asking for support, not more discipline.”

“The Polyvagal Solution” makes this complex theory digestible and actionable. Instead of promising quick fixes, Kase offers strategies for regulating the nervous system over time, including breathwork, movement, boundaries, and daily practices that better align with how the human body functions. It’s less about pushing through discomfort and more about learning to tune in to what the body needs.

From clinical expertise to business insight

What sets Kase apart isn’t just her deep understanding of trauma but how she blends that knowledge with real-world experience as a business owner and leader. As the founder of the Trauma Therapist Institute, she scaled her work into a thriving company, all while staying rooted in the values she teaches.

Kase has coached therapists, executives, and entrepreneurs who struggle with burnout, anxiety, or feeling disconnected from their work. Regardless of who she works with, though, her message remains consistent: the problem isn’t always mindset — it’s often regulation.

“Success that drains you isn’t success. It’s survival mode in disguise,” Kase explains. Her coaching programs go beyond traditional leadership training by teaching high achievers how to calm their nervous systems, enabling them to lead from a grounded place, not just grit.

Making the science personal

For all her clinical knowledge, Kase keeps things human. Her work doesn’t sound like a lecture but rather like a conversation with someone who gets it. That’s because she’s been through it herself: the long hours as a therapist, the emotional toll of supporting others, the realities of building a business while managing her own well-being.

That lived experience informs everything she does. Whether she’s speaking on stage, running a retreat, or sharing an anecdote on her podcast, Kase has a way of weaving humor and honesty into even the heaviest topics. Her ability to balance evidence-based practice with practical advice is part of what makes her voice so compelling.

Kase’s previous book, “Polyvagal-Informed EMDR,” earned respect from clinicians across the country. But “The Polyvagal Solution” reaches beyond the therapy community to anyone ready to understand how their body is shaping their behavior and how to create real, sustainable change.

Why this message matters

We’re in a moment where burnout is common and overwhelm feels normal. People are looking for answers, but many of the tools out there don’t address the deeper cause of those feelings.

That’s where Kase’s work lands differently. Instead of telling people to “think positive” or “try harder,” she teaches them how to regulate their own biology. And in doing so, she opens the door for deeper connection, better decision-making, and more energy for the things that matter.

As more workplaces begin to embrace trauma-informed leadership, more individuals are seeking solutions that go beyond talk therapy and motivational content. Kase meets that need with clarity, compassion, and a toolkit rooted in both science and humanity.

A grounded approach to lasting change

What makes “The Polyvagal Solution” stand out is its realism. It doesn’t ask readers to overhaul their lives but instead asks them to listen — to pay attention to how their bodies feel, how their stress patterns manifest, and how even small shifts in awareness can lead to significant results over time. Whether you’re a therapist, a team leader, or someone trying to feel more at ease in your own skin, this book offers a way forward that feels both grounded and achievable.

Rebecca Kase isn’t just adding another title to the self-help genre. She’s redefining it by reminding us that we don’t have to muscle our way through life. We just have to learn how to work with, not against, ourselves.

And maybe that’s the real game-changer we’ve been waiting for.

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