Threats to Your Relationship
Emotional Affairs, Backstabbing People, and Impractical Expectations
These hidden enemies of happiness can affect even the strongest of partnerships.
While every couple goes through ups and downs, there are a few things that can provide an added element of unhappiness and tension. For a relationship to endure, it takes good communication, patience, and dedication to the partnership.
Couples that struggle with certain types of threats are often constantly arguing, even during happy occasions, and may feel miserable about their otherwise great relationship. See if your partnership is affected by one of these threats:
Emotional Affairs
They start off innocently enough, but inappropriate friendships have to power to hurt at the deepest level of trust.
Why? There are going to be times in any relationship when you argue, when you’re tired, when your family causes problems, or when you feel neglected and misunderstood. The correct thing to do in this situation is to talk to your concerns over with your partner. But when someone is having an emotional affair, the tendency is to talk to the friend who they feel understands them better than their partner. By doing this, they actually replace part of the emotional bond once shared with their partner.
- Protect the Threat: Know the signs of emotional affairs so you and your partner stay away from the thin line of what’s acceptable and what hurts. Develop strong, appropriate friendships that will give you the support your relationship needs.
Unrealistic Expectations
Partners that harbor fantasies about their ideal relationship ultimately help erode their real-life one.
Why? People aren’t perfect. Setting an unattainable ideal will take away from the truly special and sometimes, smaller, parts of real happiness. It’s the simplest, everyday moments where we really live.
- Protect the Threat: Don’t compare your relationship to what you see on TV, your friends’ partnerships, or the preconceived notion you had as a kid. Look for the good in your partner, and thank them for the small things they do to help bring you happiness in life. Don’t take for granted the listening, favors, or companionship your partner may provide. Focusing on the good parts of your relationship will help you achieve contentment and peace.
Unsupportive Parents and Friends
People that claim to love you but give your partnership thumbs down are the worst type of relationship predator.
Why? It may take you a while to see the damage they’re doing to your relationship because these people are tricky in their negativity. Perhaps they criticize you or your partner outright; perhaps they subtly make comments they know will bother you. Perhaps your friend liked it better when you were available all the time for them. Perhaps your mother-in-law had issues with your partner long before you came along, and yet blames you because it’s just easier for her. Whatever the reason, these toxic people may look at your relationship as an inconvenience for them, rather than a delight for you.
- Protect the Threat: Friends and family should be happy when you are. But some people are selfish. Make every effort to understand their side of things, but let them know their lying, insults, and toxic behavior hurts and you won’t tolerate it. If they still attack your relationship, perhaps some distance from them is in order. After all, life is too short to surround yourself with people who don’t care about you.
