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A relationship can be an exciting part of a person’s life. It can be a way for a person to grow stronger, become closer to a partner and finally settle down in life. Unfortunately, a relationship can also cause stress and havoc. An unhealthy relationship has been linked to several health concerns, such as a lower self-esteem, personality disorders and even some physical health issues—including an increased risk of developing coronary heart disease and a slower rate at which you recover from a disease.
With as much as 40 million Americans using an online dating service and more than 50% of the population being in a relationship, it is important to know about some things that should never be ignored in a relationship. These things are signs that a relationship is going in the wrong direction and that the relationship may cause negative effects on your own personal health—both physical and mental. If you see these signs in your own relationship, then it might be time to seek ways in which you can improve your relationship or to finally realize that you and your partner are not working out.
1. Overstepping Boundaries
Setting boundaries and respecting each other’s boundaries are an important part of a healthy relationship. Without setting boundaries, partners will constantly overstep on each other’s “personal space” and this may cause the relationship to spiral out of control. Each partner in a relationship is responsible for their individual words, attitudes, values, bodies, emotions and preferences. Setting boundaries on what you are comfortable with and uncomfortable with in regards to these factors helps the other partner avoid overstepping boundaries. Apart from this, healthy boundaries can also help to eliminate the need to blame each other and cause each partner to admit when they have overstepped or done wrong.
Setting some basic boundaries, such as making it clear what the two of you can say to each other, determining when you allow each other space, understanding how you each interact on social media networks and making sure you know what you share with each other. All of these boundaries can help to improve the health of your relationship and even bring you close to each other in the end.
2. Neglecting Your Partner
One of the most common problems in a relationship is neglecting one another. This happens because numerous factors in each individual’s life start to occupy them, and can get in the way of spending time with the other partner. When this happens, the couple can start to draw away from each other and they can become emotionally disconnected, leading to further problems. Facing these problems together can help to reduce the neglect and bring you closer to each other.
It is reported that emotional neglect can be a result of emotional abuse or other emotional aspects from childhood. This, however, can cause one of the partner to make excuses whenever emotional attention is required. When emotional neglect continues, it can cause the other partner to search for someone they can emotionally attach to and can even lead to one partner cheating on the other, which may eventually lead to the relationship ending.
3. Eye Rolling
While this may seem like complete nonsense, eye rolling, especially while arguing with each other, has been proven to be a predictor of divorce. Your Tango reports that eye rolling usually means that one partner disagrees with the other, they are frustrated with what the other partner is saying or they do not respect the other partner. This can cause the other person to feel like their partner doesn’t care about them. They can also feel disrespected and insulted. A group of researchers conducted a study at the University of Washington and found eye rolling is mostly a sign that one partner does not value the other partner anymore. If a relationship has reached this point, outside help may often be required in order to save it.
4. Manipulation
Emotional manipulation can have a serious impact on a relationship and even on an individual’s life. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be “undercover” and hard to recognize, but still, have negative effects on one partner if the other one is manipulating them. Psychopaths And Love reports some common signs that you are being manipulated in your relationship include your mood being dependent on your relationship’s state, being unhappy most of the time, feeling as if your relationship is extremely complex, and never being sure of where you and your partner are really standing at in your relationship at any given moment.
5. Emotional Abuse
An abusive relationship doesn’t necessarily mean one partner physically hurts the other. Sometimes, abuse comes in an emotional form that hurts the other partner mentally. This can also have a significant negative impact on the individual’s health—both physically and mentally. This, however, can also sometimes be hard to recognize as love is often thought to cause a partner to be blinded to signs of emotional abuse. Psych Central shares that some common signs that you are being emotionally abused include:
• Your partner is constantly embarrassing you in front of other people.
• Your partner refuses to effectively communicate with you.
• Your partner constantly excludes you and often ignores you.
• Your partner is very moody and is often jealous for no reason.
• Your partner is constantly making fun of you and throwing mean jokes to your side.
• Your partner puts you on guilt trips and refuses to show any affection.
• Your partner is isolating you from loved ones, such as your family or friends.
Healthy relationships can improve a person’s general health, make them happier, boost their mood and even improve their mental wellbeing. On the other end, an unhealthy relationship can cause several physical and mental health issues to develop. Recognizing signals of an unhealthy relationship can help you determine when action needs to be taken.