Is your relationship making you sick?

A new research shows treading water in a so-so relationship can actually be bad for your health, raising stress levels and blood pressure. Find out here how healthy is your relationship and how to help it recover if it's under the weather..

1. Too healthy for your own good?
Couple that never argue may be setting themselves up for a fall. One of the key ways in which relationships grow is by partners learning to reconcile their differences.

Take Action-Don't be afraid to be your own person. Being loved-up is fantastic, but it can make you very self-absorbed. It can also end up costing you if you let it change things in terms of your other relationships, your work of your health.

2. A clean bill of health
Being a stable relationship means you have a haven, regardless of the problems the outside world decides to throw at you. Being in a relationship that offers mutual support will boost your confidence and well-being. This might help to explain why people who've been happily married for years tend to live longer.

Take Action-Keep up the good work! But remember, if you've not being together for long, you may still be experiencing the 'high' of falling in love. Once normality sets in, you may find you have to work harder to keep the spark alive. Surprise dinners or sending sexy text messages will help.

3. Looking a bit peaky
A so-so relationship can be even worst for your health than a bad one. Being in a constant state of uncertainty about whether to continue your relationship can cause feelings of guilt, anxiety, insecurity and raise your blood pressure. This is often when people have affairs.

Take Action-Take this as an opportunity to rediscover all the reasons you got together. Try to rekindle feelings of intimacy. People have 'love nerves' throughout the body, which send strong feelings of contentment to the brain when stroked. So indulge in some massage and make quality 'we' time.

4.Call 999!
Studies show that illness rates are much higher for people in an unsatisfactory relationship. Women tend to take on the role of carers in a relationship. This can mean juggling a career with household tasks, resulting stress, sleep deprivation and depression.

Take Action-It's make -or-break time and you have to decide if the relationship is worth saving. If you've invested a lot of time in it and children are involved, try to work together to see if the relationship can be improved. This may mean seeking professional help.