Most of us could use some comforting conversation right now, and our partners likely could too. But that can be hard when we’re under stress after weeks of being cooped up together because of the coronavirus pandemic. Cleveland Clinic Wellness recently offered some advice:

When your partner is stressed, don’t minimize the problem. Acknowledge it clearly and validate your partner’s feeling. And instead of trying to immediately find solutions to the problem, focus on listening, asking questions, and just being there. Nonverbal communication like eye contact, nodding, and reassuring touch is helpful, too. If all of this comes naturally to you, keep it up. If it doesn’t, practice, and you’ll get the hang of it.

It’s a skill set worth learning, and benefits not just mental health, but physical health too. “Stress makes levels of the hormone cortisol surge, and when stress is unrelenting, that soaring cortisol wreaks havoc on your body, including your heart,” the clinic notes. “But conversations between partners can reduce stress and tension, make cortisol levels drop, and let the body recover.”