5 Signs That Your Relationship Is Bringing Unhappiness Into Your Life
Sep 21, 2018
When it comes to making choices, sometimes a difficult path has to be taken to get the best outcome. Everyone deserves a healthy relationship - one that uplifts and supports you, where you feel safe and content. Anything else probably isn't worth the effort.
If you feel unhappy in your relationship, don't worry - you're not alone. Approximately 60% of people in relationships report that they feel unhappy. People stay in these unhappy relationships because of financial or emotional stability, safety, comfort in the daily routine, fear of change, or fear of their significant other.
Even so, it's not healthy to remain in a relationship you and your s.o. can't fix. With those thoughts in mind, let's review 5 signs that your relationship isn't making you happy. See if this helps you make an informed decision about a highly complex issue.
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1. You don't feel the same sexual attraction you did at the beginning of the relationship.
This by itself isn't a reason to end a relationship. With enough time, this happens to every couple, especially ones who live together. However, physical intimacy is just as important in a relationship as emotional intimacy.
Sex shouldn't define a relationship, but it is a key factor in a healthy one, and a lack of physical intimacy could be a symptom of underlying issues. Physical intimacy can only happen when mental and emotional intimacy has already been established, so if it suddenly stops, there could be something worse beginning to happen. If you see these subtle warning signs, sit down with your s.o. and see if you can talk things out.
2. You prefer to spend time with your friends or family, over your significant other.
Maintaining an active social life outside of your partner is a sign of a healthy relationship - however, a line is crossed when you begin preferring one over the other. If it gets to the point where you don't want to spend any time with your s.o, you need to step back and try to figure out why.
Potential reasons could include a lack of common interests or activities to do together, a sense of boredom, dissatisfaction with something your relationship or partner is doing, or worse, avoiding a bad situation entirely by pretending it doesn't exist. A happy relationship is one with communication, trust, and must be constantly worked at in order for both people to remain together.
3. You don't enjoy the time you DO spend with your partner.
Sometimes, the opposite occurs - people in relationships spend more time with their partner than their family or friends. If this is the case, you need to seriously consider if your partner is attempting to isolate you.
Symptoms of this include feelings of dread before date night or coming home; a sense that you're being overruled, or are obligated to put your partner before friends and family. Even if it's not that bad, there are still factors to consider. Have you run out of fun things to do together? Try to come up with new ones. Explore and experiment to see if you can come up with anything new that rekindles your fire. Communicate your feelings with your partner. If they contribute to your attempts to solve things, the relationship can be saved.
4. Your relationship drains you more than it fulfills or satisfies you.
On that same note, is the time you spend with your partner draining, as in, you feel like you're the one doing all the work? Do you feel like you always have to correct yourself, agree, or listen to your partner's problems, but get nothing in return for your efforts? These are all signs of an unhappy, and even unhealthy relationship. Your partner needs to be giving you something back, or you're going to burn out and the relationship will likely fail.
Don't misunderstand - relationships aren't 100% satisfying all the time- but if it feels like those satisfying moments are long gone or nonexistent, there's a problem.
5. You feel like you're being suffocated or trapped by the relationship.
Does your significant other attempt to smother you, make choices for you, keep you from leaving or from living a normal life? When you bring up these concerns with your partner, do they ignore them?
You're probably in an unhappy relationship.
Even in a relationship this bad, there may still be good moments. Cherish those moments, but don't let them blind you to a potentially bad situation. You're the one in charge of your life. If being free means ending your relationship, so be it.
Do you think you, or someone you know, is in an unhappy relationship? Show this article to your friends and see how they react to these 5 signs.