Relational Boredom:

Are You Tired of “Us?”:

"Romantic couples face several challenges when attempting to maintain satisfying, long-term relationships. One subtle but pervasive challenge couples are likely to encounter is relational boredom, the tendency for partners to feel “tired of” and unstimulated in their relationship (Harasymchuk & Fehr, 2010, 2013). Past work suggests that when people experience boredom in their relationship they report a wide variety of negative emotions (e.g., lack of excitement, frustration) which can lead to declines in relationship quality (e.g. Reissman et al., 1993). In fact, one clinician concluded that “boredom is perhaps the most common denominator of all marital problems” (Venditti, 1980, p. 65). ..."

"Boredom is a common experience. It is, interestingly, both a low- and higharousal state wherein people can feel simultaneously understimulated and restless (e.g., Danckert et al., 2018; Westgate, 2020)."

"boredom is frequently cited as a major reason for relationship discord and dissolution (Aron & Aron, 1986; Reissman et al., 1993)."