March 11 2012 – Matchcompany.co.nz The trauma of the Christchurch earthquakes has clearly had a significant effect upon personal relationships, both good and bad, according to one of New Zealand’s leading matchmakers.
Rosie Bowie, who runs Wellington and Christchurch-based matchmaking agency Matchcompany, says many of her Christchurch clients have either renewed efforts to find someone special, or they have simply “gone into their shells” and put this aspect of their personal lives on hold.
“The shock of the quakes has clearly had people reappraising their lives, which is entirely understandable, and we have had Christchurch clients really redoubling their efforts to find a special partner, just as others have been too preoccupied or traumatised to actually pursue matters like establishing a personal relationship.”
Matchcompany has been involved in the Christchurch dating scene for almost five years and works on finding permanent partners for its clients. However, the Christchurch quakes have seen the ‘ground shift’ in terms of how people view things like dating, according to Mrs Bowie.
“There will always be those resilient people who outwardly appear to take these events on the chin, but there’s no getting away from the trauma of such major, life-threatening events and it has been really surprising the number of people without life partners who are keen to establish someone to share their lives – with the good or bad that comes with it.
“The earthquakes have somehow brought to the surface feelings in some clients that we had never heard before. They were, for instance, much more open emotionally and also more open to making something positive happen in their lives like finding a partner.” The earthquake-factor has literally shaken some people into greater self-awareness, she says.
There are plenty of studies relating to how people deal with trauma after dramatic events like Christchurch’s earthquakes, and there are also psychological results whereby people have multiple reactions, such as repeating earlier relationship behaviour, extreme feelings of people-pleasing, forming attachments to people who you might not otherwise handle and the like.
“When it comes to something like dating, we really have to take care to ensure that people are forming relationships for the right reasons, too. It’s very much a sensitive dynamic,” says Rosie Bowie.
Rosie Bowie will be in Christchurch this week from Thursday 15 March until Saturday 17 March to talk to existing or new clients about dating in Christchurch and other matchmaking issues.
She may be contacted at: rb@matchcompany.co.nz; Tel: 021 476 454
