​Being Humble Helps

When having a disagreement with one’s partner, what can help bring down one’s blood pressure? 
 
Researchers found that those couples who demonstrated “humble complementarity” reported greater relationship satisfaction after a stressful disagreement and lower blood pressure (Tongeren et al 2019).   These are relationships characterized by both partners exhibiting humble behavior (as opposed to one or both exhibiting arrogance).   
 
Even when going through periods of strain (for example, when couples transition into parenthood for the first time), humility has been found to ease adjustment and lower levels of depression.  This is especially the case when both partners act in humble ways; humility reduces defensiveness and strengthens trust and overall relationship commitment.  
 
If only one partner acts in a humble manner, the benefits of humility to the relationship as a whole are compromised, likely due to the increased risk of one partner feeling exploited by the other.     
 
So being humble is not only a virtue but it’s also a source of relationship resilience as long as both parties are on board. 
 
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Check out the Roots of Empathy Program, that teaches school age children across the globe empathy, developing their social-emotional competence, and decreasing rates of aggression. 

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Empathy