12 Early Signs A Relationship Won’t Last
Few things compare to the intensity and passion
felt when falling in love anew. These emotionally-tinted glasses can be thick
enough to let you overlook just about anything questionable about this shiny new interest. No, unfortunately, it doesn’t last forever. As the relationship starts to get more serious,
emotions stabilize and those overlooked things sharpen a bit in clarity. So those problems that arise later on in the
relationship are usually ones that were there in some form since the beginning. Not to worry, some conflicts and disagreements
are normal, even healthy in a relationship. The frequency and degree of the problems determine
if this is ‘normal’ or a flashing red sign of an imminent end. Interested in what these signs are? Coming right up: 12 Early Signs Your Relationship
Could Last: ONE. Your Relationship Is Solely About the Romantic
Pull Romantic attraction to your partner is important
in any relationship, being *part* of what forms a solid bond, not the entirety of it.
A healthy, strong relationship also consists
of having something in common with your partner other than romance. Without any similar interests, goals, shared
experiences, or any other kind of common ground to stand on, the foundation is weaker, with
little to build with. Like the little pig with the straw house,
it can collapse easily. TWO. You Don’t Like Their Friends Ever heard that saying: “Tell me who your
friends are and I’ll tell you who you are.” There’s certainly some truth to that.
While it’s perfectly healthy and fine for
you and your partner to have your friends, a problem arises when there is an active dislike
for each other’s social circles. As friends act as a reflection of the person,
this implies that on some level you may not actually like the person you’re with. This could be an early sign that the two of
you are not well-matched. THREE. You Spend Too Much Time Together On the other social flip-side, is your partner
the only person you see, to the exclusion of everyone else? Spending too much time together with your
partner may eventually erode your sense of self. Sure, saying someone is “our whole world”
sounds romantic; however, if taken at face value, this implies dependence on
them for your identity and happiness. This is not healthy or sustainable. FOUR. Your Relationship Feels One-Sided It’s one thing when your partner tells you
they love you and care about you, but another when they don’t show it in their words or
their actions.
Do you usually start the conversations or
plan your dates together? Do you feel you are giving much more than
you are getting back? While relationships are not competitions,
both you and your partner should be doing the work to hold the relationship together. FIVE. You Feel Controlled Do you notice more and more that your opinions
or decisions are constantly overridden? Or maybe a decision was made without your
input and the expectation is for you to happily follow along without a word? This may mean that your partner doesn’t
respect you or care about your feelings. Healthy relationships require mutual respect,
so being in a relationship with this kind of imbalance does not bode well. This person can change this by learning to
value your opinion and stop being so controlling. SIX. You Can’t Be Yourself Around Them Yes, we’ve all heard and probably know that
first impressions are important; we dress more carefully, put some extra shine to our
smiles, and filter our personalities like an Instagram pic.
So what about the second impression, or third,
or hundredth? … the two hundredths? By that point, should the relationship be
healthy and strong, we shouldn’t need to put on the first-impression suit or perform
all that prep before hanging out with our partner. If you still feel like that’s required in
your serious relationship, this is a pretty key sign there’s going to be trouble ahead. SEVEN. You Don’t Feel Accepted Your partner feeds a constant flow of criticism
to you for your perceived flaws, saying it’s “for the better”. The critique is to change every aspect of
you from the way you dress to the way you speak. It’s like they want a different person than
the one in front of them. You may initially justify going along with
it to salvage the relationship. The reality is, you’re sacrificing the wonderful,
unique, and valuable you for a person who doesn’t see your worth. You deserve to be treated like the gem you
are.
And not mistaken for a lump of coal that needs
dressing up. EIGHT. You Fight All The Time Occasional conflict, handled correctly, is
a healthy and normal part of a relationship as it helps couples understand each other’s
differences better. If the conflict is constant and volatile, however,
especially early in the relationship, this is a clear sign of incompatibility. All the energy for the relationship is sapped
from arguing, with no chance of growing closer as most conversations turn into a screaming
match. It’s not healthy and it’s not
sustainable for a long-term relationship. NINE. You Don’t Trust Each Other Healthy, lasting relationships require mutual
trust. Trust allows closeness, honesty, and vulnerability
to occur, which are all things that strengthen the bond. A lack of trust in a relationship isn’t
something that will fix itself if ignored. This can look like many things, including
checking their phone on the sly or frequently calling their friends to ‘check’ on them. Issues will repeatedly return to haunt you
until one of these outcomes occurs: you learn to trust each other, or the relationship ends
since there’s no room to grow.
TEN. They’re Regularly Mean To Other People Were you shocked when your sweet, soft-spoken
partner was unreasonably impatient and rude to the waiter? It’s a definite cause for concern when your
partner acts one way towards you, and another towards someone else. Do they regularly act like Jekyll and Hyde,
being kind to you, then turning around and yelling at the driver, the waiter, and the person
in front of them in line? If the answer is yes, then you should be wary. They might simply be putting on a façade
to win you over.
ELEVEN. They’re Passive Aggressive When your partner is passive-aggressive towards
you, it means that there is an issue with the two-way communication in your relationship. It’s perfectly fine to be frustrated or
upset with each other sometimes; having open communication about it and approaching the
problem constructively is a healthy response. Making back-handed compliments, avoiding direct
or clear communication, sarcasm, playing the victim, or holding grudges against one another
isn’t going to do anyone any good, and it will be the death of your relationship if
it continues. TWELVE. The Timing Isn’t Right Sometimes, no matter how much you want to
be with someone, the timing just won’t allow it.
You might be at different stages in your life
and are on different paths for the future. Maybe you’re not ready yet, or you want
to put your studies and career first. Perhaps you’re still getting over an ex. Whatever the reason may be, if the timing
of it all just isn’t in your favor, it might mean the tragic end of your relationship. Perfection is a myth, so no relationship is
perfect, and there are just some things we can’t compromise on. We often settle for less in a relationship
than what we require to have a fulfilling one, so hopefully we’re learning that our
time is valuable and will watch out for signs like these to treat ourselves better.
Have you seen signs like this before? What was the result? How did that result come about? Is there something currently happening that’s
similar? Share your experience in the comments below. Thanks for watching and let’s keep the relationship
between you and the Psych2Go community lasting by liking, sharing, commenting, or subscribing! See you soon. Video by Psych2go.
