ABSTRACT
Prolonged self-isolation at home during the COVID crisis may have certain positive effects on some troubled marriages. Observational and anecdotal evidence from a small sample size in and around the city of Kolkata, India, suggests that in a minority of cases where at least one partner has a neurotic personality, the marriage is further destabilized due to poor distress tolerance exacerbated by home confinement. However, in a greater number of cases, more adaptive couples have been able to reduce interpersonal conflict, at least temporarily, simply by practicing enhanced self-awareness to refrain from directing criticism and showing contempt towards partners.
