Humans are social beings. Good relationships with partners, family, friends, and others significantly influence your physical, emotional, and mental health. However, relationships can be fragile and can be affected by even the smallest of things.
The biggest threat in a relationship is when one person or both of you quit on each other. If you desire to have happy, long-lasting relationships, then you should avoid these nine things.
1. Substance addiction
Substance abuse is not just an individual problem; it affects relationships too. Addiction has a ripple effect of influencing behavior, health, time prioritization, and the distribution of family resources. Living with a person battling addiction can be very heartbreaking, causing many relationships to break.
The good news is that the addicted partner can still get their life back on track. Before giving up on them and your relationship, try getting them into addiction treatment therapy.
2. Infidelity
An affair is a temporary solution to the problems you face, but its consequences can make your life complicated. Very few partners can tolerate infidelity, and it is the ultimate deal-breaker for them when it happens. If there are things that trouble you about your partner making you look for comfort in other people outside of what you two share, face them and work to sort them out.
3. Failure to create time for one another
You need to make time for your partner, as failure to do so creates a rift between you and makes room for others to fill the void. Be intentional about this, and don’t use a busy schedule as an excuse for failing to make time. When you spend time with them, they feel loved, needed, and special.
4. Not saying “I love you”
These three words have such a significant impact on our relationships. It is a way of expressing your feelings to each other and affirming the other person’s position in your heart. The words are not just important at the beginning of a relationship but should be said often to keep your partner happy and boost your relationship.
5. Lack of communication
It is hard to have a healthy relationship without communication. Talking to each other brings you closer as you get to know each other better. Communication gives you a channel through which you get to share each other’s life experiences, release stress, and is also an antidote to many life problems.
6. Lack of intimacy
Intimacy is one way that couples express their love for one another, increasing their emotional connection and commitment. Lack of physical and emotional intimacy in a relationship has been one of the main reasons why a good number of marriages end. It leaves one feeling resentful, frustrated, and undesired.
It is hardest when one partner is comfortable with the situation but the other is unhappy. However, if both partners still love each other and are willing to work together to resolve the intimacy issue, it is possible to save such a relationship.
7. Being overly possessive
Everyone hates the thought of losing the person they love the most, but that does not mean that you should be possessive of them. Having an overly possessive and bossy partner can be suffocating, causing you to lie sometimes to avoid confrontations. Understand that your partner has a life of their own and needs that breathing space for the things they enjoy outside of what you two have. Give each other some breathing space, or you will ruin your relationship.
8. Holding grudges
It is hard to relate well with a person that you hold grudges against. For a healthy, happy relationship, forgiveness should be that central element. Grudge makes you harbor negative emotions of bitterness, paranoia, or even vengeance. We all make mistakes – learn to talk things out when you feel offended and let go of any negative emotions and grudges. If you can’t let things go even after your partner has apologized, it is almost impossible to be happy with them.
9. Always passing blame
To say sorry is to admit that you are wrong. Saying sorry should never be a competition of who is wrong or who is right. No one is perfect, and it doesn’t help your relationship if all you do is pass the blame and be overly critical even when you are wrong. In relationships, you will at times have to be the bigger person and take the blame even if it was never your fault to avoid escalating matters.
Endnote
People in good relationships are happier, healthier, live longer, handle stress better, and have stronger resistance to common infections like colds. When you have a safe haven in the form of a relationship, you have someone to turn to for support, strength, and shared happiness.
