Keeping a relationship together is not always easy, and there are some cases in which a relationship is salvageable, but that is not always the case. And while you may likely have an idea if your relationship is doomed towards failure, some behaviors indicate that without a shadow of a doubt.
Going through a difficult time with your partner is emotionally draining. If you’ve ever been through a rough patch with your partner or if you are going through one now, then you already know exactly what I mean. It can feel as though you are in a war with no end in sight. Not only with your partner, but also with yourself.
It can cause you to question yourself and your relationship. But if the following behaviors are present in your relationship, or the relationship you are wondering about, then it’s likely it’s heading towards failure.
1. Neither of you cares to even try to make an effort anymore.
While arguing all of the time isn’t a good sign either when both of you stop caring enough to even argue or try to fix things, the relationship is doomed. Even worse, when one partner becomes apathetic and the other struggles to try to make things work, it can feel like you are pushing against a brick wall.
2. You constantly tear each other down.
Rather than encouraging one another and supporting one another, you are constantly tearing each other down. When criticism and name-calling take the place of love and affection, it spells a disastrous outcome for the future.
3. You don’t trust one another any longer.
If one or both partners have cheated or been deceptive, it can make it hard to have trust in one another. And even if cheating hasn’t occurred, trust is built and depends on the bond between both partners. Once that bond begins to dwindle, it can make it hard to trust, and trust is one of the most important factors in a relationship.
4. You are turning to someone else to fulfill your needs.
In some cases, partners may lean on another person when their physical needs aren’t being met. But that isn’t always the case, in many cases, when the emotional bond is broken, one or more partners may reach out for outside emotional connection. When this happens, the bond between you and the new person can become stronger, as the other relationship falls apart, making it impossible to go back.
5. The relationship lacks communication and affection.
Communication is when both parties can converse and exchange words without shutting down or retreating in anger. And affection and intimacy hold a relationship together. When communication and affection are replaced with conflict and anger, it’s a bad sign.
6. You are keeping score.
Relationships are not a game of Yahtzee, in which we keep score of each other. When we begin keeping score of ourselves and what we do, and our partner and what they do wrong, it will inevitably destroy the relationship.