The stress of living through a pandemic is putting relationships to the test .

Theres not a single one of us who isnt dealing with a tremendous amount of stress right now, marriage and family therapist Winifred M. Reilly told HuffPost. Work issues, tight living quarters, financial uncertainty, fears about the health of our loved ones, fears of getting sick ourselves. And as we all know, stress does not bring out the best in us.

So how can you keep your relationship from crumbling under the weight of these challenges? We turned to couples therapists for their best advice on how to stay steady during a turbulent time.

1. Bring back date night.

Social distancing guidelines may have foiled your go-to date night plans . You cant hire a babysitter, eat at a restaurant or catch a movie in theaters. But you can still carve out some time to connect at home. Psychologist Kelifern Pomeranz recommends setting aside at least an hour per week for just the two of you.

Meet up in the backyard or on the balcony. Dress in your finest if you wish, have a drink together (non-alcoholic is fine), slow dance, and play charades or a board game, she said. Try and keep the conversation light, humorous and optimistic. This should be a time to step away from the stress of COVID-19 and reconnect with your partner.

2. Cut each other some slack more than you usually would.

Were living through a highly stressful, unsettling, anxiety-inducing time. Under these conditions, its difficult to present the best versions of ourselves. So be gentle on each other when tensions inevitably arise.

Find compassion for yourself and your partner when arguments come up and realize that its likely a normal reaction to an abnormal situation, said marriage and family therapist Jon-Paul Bird . Dont rush to judge the quality of your relationship right now, and continue to find ways to communicate and be vulnerable about difficult feelings. Have compassion around the fact that this is hard.

Thats not to say everyone should get a pass for all bad behavior right now. You can gently call out your partner for their snippy remark or harsh tone without escalating the incident into a bigger fight.

If one or both of you are short-tempered or impatient, dont turn it into a federal case, Reilly said. Keep in mind that when were under pressure, most of us need some TLC far more than we need a lecture about not being nice.

3. Prioritize your alone time.

Stay-at-home orders have led to a whole lot of forced togetherness, for better and worse.

It turns out that the time you used to spend on your daily commute or at the gym was actually really important for your mental health and relationship, Pomeranz said.

Finding those pockets of me time may be a challenge these days so you need to be intentional about giving each other space.

Be understanding if your partner needs some time with a book, video game, Zoom call or wants to put in some earbuds to listen to music, Bird said. Also, if you are fortunate enough to be working from home right now, try to give each other their own dedicated space to work and organize themselves.

4. Practice self-care together.