When things aren’t going right in a relationship, the smallest incidents can turn into the biggest disasters.

Some of the worst arguments happen not as a result of huge missteps, but because of the straw that broke the camel’s back. For couples in serious relationships, it is the small stuff, good or bad, that really builds up over time and turns into something greater than the sum of its parts. Ideally, the ratio should be weighted far more in the direction of being nice than it is in the direction of being annoying.

It is not always a bad thing for partners to argue. Sometimes, it is a necessary step towards progress in the relationship. Try as we might, most of us are not able to communicate all of our thoughts and feelings in a calm and measured way, not least if they involve certain resentments that have been building up for a period of time. Pretty much everyone who lives with their partner gets irritated by some of their behaviors now and then, and they can easily grow into something bigger if there are other underlying issues which have not been resolved. It is all a part of being with people.