Relationships are necessary part of healthy living, but there is no such thing as a perfect relationship. Relationships, from acquaintances to romances, have the potential to enrich our lives and add to our enjoyment of life. However, these same relationships can cause discomfort, and sometimes even cause harm. At least once in your lifetime, you will find yourself in a couple of unhealthy relationships that you just seem to can't let go of. As the days drag on, although you can't take it any longer, you just can't seem to take that first step. Maybe because, you're still hoping that everything will still change. Or you can't bear hurt the feelings of your lover. Whatever it is that is holding you back from getting out it, unhealthy relationships will only cause more emotional damage if not ended soon. Unhealthy relationships can come in different forms. Most of the time it involves some form of abuse. If you think that your partner is physically or emotionally abusing you, by all means, get out of that relationship as fast as you can. If one partner is hindering the other from growing, then the relationship just isn't healthy for both of them anymore. And once the relationship becomes unhealthy, conflict will surely arise. Ending an unhealthy relationship starts with a conscious decision of actually ending it. You have to be determined to let it go so that you wouldn't have to think twice about it anymore. Many people find it hard to break up with someone because they think that eventually the situation will get better again. Nothing good will come out of the procrastination. It will just hurt more. Ending a relationship can be a difficult undertaking but it doesn't have to be traumatic on anyone. As long as you have a clear understanding of what you want your future to be, an unhealthy relationship is the last place you would want yourself to be in.
A healthy relationship is when two people develop a connection based on mutual respect, trust, honesty, support, and good communication. Healthy relationships should bring more happiness than stress into your life. Every relationship will have stress at times, but you want to prevent prolonged mental stress on either member of the relationship. Building healthy patterns early in your relationship can establish a solid foundation for the long run. Each of us enters into romantic relationships with ideas about what we want based on family relationships, what we've seen in the media, and our own past relationship experiences. Holding on to unrealistic expectations can cause a relationship to be unsatisfying and to eventually fail.
Eventually unhealthy relationships takes their toll and you are left feeling unwanted, dejected, unworthy, and maybe even depressed. This can easily spill over into other parts of your life, especially work or interaction with other loved ones. The end result is a severely damaged psyche. When someone feels like they’ve been taken for granted the relationship can crumble fast. It’s one of the major signs in unhealthy relationships, and you just have to face it head on like everything else. Don’t be afraid to discuss your feelings, taking the time to show your partner you care is extremely important. Just tell them what would make you feel more valued, because it can make a big difference. Unhealthy relationships can be provoked by partners that are not supporting each other in every way possible. Feeling like you’re prevented from being interested in your hobbies, skills, or talents can create problems in the relationship. The only way to rectify the situation is by learning how to support each other as a couple as well as individually. If she loves to sing and you love to paint, then allow time for each other to do what they love. It's important to know the long-term impact of negative relationships, how to recognize the symptoms, and how to obtain the help you need to break free from a harmful association when that is the best course of action. I do fully recognize that sometimes a better course of action is changing the dynamics of the interaction within a relationship to achieve the desired level of stability and compatibility. This can be achieved through commitment to therapeutic work on the part of either/or all of the parties involved. Some of the serious long-term effects of remaining in a dysfunctional relationship include the gradual but steady erosion of your sense of self-worth. Suddenly, you wake up one morning to find that the only identity you have is that which you have gained from your abuser. You see yourself through their eyes often it can take years of therapy to undo the damage that has been done to the ego. It is not unusual to find individuals with serious personality disorders as a result of the insidious effect of unhealthy long-term associations. Another important effect is the negative impact on your ability to accept the love of other well-meaning persons with whom you are in relationship. You become suspicious of the sincerity of those with whom you relate. This is a sure guarantee to undermining all future chances for happiness. This progression occurs because as a passive participant in an unhealthy association, you have come to accept and integrate the identity, conditional love, or outright rejection you receive from the negative other person. You subconsciously expect the same treatment from others. As a result, you struggle with integrating a new identity of loving and being worthy of love and acceptance. The longer an unhealthy relationship continues, the more damaging it is, and the more difficult it is to engage in a healthy one in which there is genuine love and acceptance.
Finally, most people have at one point in time or another experienced an unhealthy relationship. It is what we decide to do that determines whether we continue to be dissatisfied in our associations or whether we attain a satisfactory level of stability and compatibility. It is normal and advisable to seek professional help as you struggle through what to do with a difficult relationship, especially if it has existed for a long period of time.