Relationship

How to Save an Unhealthy Relationship

How to Save an Unhealthy Relationship

You may be happy now when you’ve found your love from the best dating sites 2021. The first couple of months are usually delightful and exciting. But then your connection deepens, which may lead to some old monsters raising their heads, or life causing new issues to resolve. If you want to fight for your relationship, read on and learn how.

When There’s Been a Breach of Trust

Any breach of trust opens a rift in a relationship. Facing these challenges can be frustrating, but leaving them unattended only causes more problems. One of the best pieces of unhealthy relationship advice anyone can give you is to confront issues when they arise.

1. Take Responsibility

If there was a breach of trust, such as infidelity, the one responsible must take full responsibility and understand how that behavior hurt their partner. Don’t let yourself become defensive or dodge responsibility for what happened.

However, don’t let yourself become lost in self-loathing. Own what occurred in a loving and caring way to create room to build trust again. Take responsibility, but never try to blame others for your actions or justify them.

2. Let Your Partner Win Your Trust Back

It’s okay to feel betrayed and hurt by what your partner does, but you should also have some interest in repairing things with them. Trust can only be rebuilt if the person who had their trust broken lets it happen.

3. Practice Radical Transparency

Couples should never bottle up emotions. Instead, they should practice radical transparency. You should get everything out there and explain the “what” and “why” of why you are hurt, even if you feel self-conscious about it. One of the clearest unhealthy relationship characteristics is that you’re afraid to speak up.

The ones who broke the trust must also be radically transparent with themselves about what caused them to do the thing they did. Was it an error in judgment? Or did you try to sabotage something you knew you wanted to escape? The only way you can be honest with your partner is to be honest with yourself.

For Long-Distance Relationships

Long-distance relationships are tough on anyone. It takes more effort to keep the relationship going.

1. Manage Expectations

Establish ground rules and expectations with your partner, particularly over your commitment to one another and exclusivity. Be honest about what you want to prevent future misunderstandings and problems. Avoid unhealthy expectations in your relationship, like demanding your partner always be in touch with you. They have a life of their own.

2. Visit Each Other Regularly

One of the essential things a long-distance couple can do is schedule visits. This gives you something to look forward to with each other. Research shows that long-distance relationships work better and are less stressful when the partners plan to get together – and bring those plans to life.

3. Have Online Dates

If you can’t meet with your partner physically for some reason, then set aside time for virtual dates instead. Go above and beyond by cooking meals together, watching a movie together with a video chat open, play games together, or just take turns reading a story to each other.

4. Don’t Let Your World Revolve Around Your Partner

It’s vital that you establish a sense of closeness with your partner, but you shouldn’t let them consume your life. You should never neglect other important areas of your life. Make time for your interests and hobbies and accept that a healthy relationship happens when two people are their own person.

When Living Together

Going through a rough patch with someone you live with is perhaps the worst thing that can happen in a relationship.

1. Plan a “Couples Meeting” Together

It would help if you set aside some time each week where you agree to talk about complex topics, such as money, trust, and sex. Setting time aside means the problems don’t invade all of your interactions with each other.

2. Learn To Compromise

Every relationship requires some give and take from the people involved. Being more open and accommodating others’ needs without giving up your own makes a relationship more fulfilling. Compromising helps avoid unhealthy relationship effects, such as someone feeling like they are being controlled.

3. Spend Time With Your Friends

Having time for friends has a massive impact on your emotional health and helps establish a personal identity. Part of being in a relationship with someone is maintaining a life outside of the relationship.

4. Be Affectionate With Each Other

It will help if you hug your partner in a connected and present way. Being affectionate by doing things like hugging and holding hands eliminates stress and improves your mood. Even small gestures, like putting your hand on theirs, go a long way.

After a Big Fight

Putting a relationship back together after a big fight feels like a near-impossibility. Here are some tips to help recover from conflicts with partners.

1. Use Skilled Communication

Let tempers calm down, and then use skilled communication to get your points across. Both partners should let the other have space to communicate how they feel. Be open and honest about your thoughts and intentions for the relationship. Doing this can create a renewed sense of safety in a relationship.

2. Speak From the Heart

The only way your partner will ever hear you is if you talk from the heart and communicate how you really feel. Rather than use accusatory phrases such as “You did this!” try something like “When this happens, I feel like this, and I think it would help if you did this to reassure me that this won’t happen again.”

3. Be an Active Listener

If you’re already forming a rebuttal while the other person is talking, then you aren’t listening to them. This is a sign that you’re getting yourself ready for battle. No one ever truly “wins” an argument.

By making the other person feel that they “lost” the argument, all you do is create more distance and tension in the relationship. You’ll lose out eventually.

4. Maintain Communication and a Sense of Intimacy

Establish some ground rules on how you two plan to care for each other emotionally, even when fighting. For a start, commit to giving your partner a heads up if you feel like you’re drifting apart. Talk to them about why you think that way; what you think is causing the drift.

Have you been too caught up in work? Has it been too long since you spent the day together enjoying each other’s company? Committing yourself to your relationship is just as important as committing yourself to your partner.

What are the Three Signs of an Unhealthy Relationship?

It’s important you know the unhealthy relationship meaning and recognize unhealthy relationship facts. If you’re wondering, “what are three signs of an unhealthy relationship?” then here are some habits to watch for;

1. Intensity

Every relationship needs passion, but if someone is too extreme about it and their feelings are overwhelming, that’s not a good thing. If someone comes on too strong, too fast, and is getting obsessive, it’s time to take a step back.

2. Manipulation

Feeling manipulated is one of the clearest unhealthy relationship effects. If someone attempts to control your actions and emotions, then it’s a clear sign of abuse. Manipulation can be difficult to see when it happens to you. Listen to your heart and your friends and family if they broach the subject.

3. Sabotage

When someone ruins your achievements, reputation, or success, this is sabotage. Abusers sabotage their partners to make them easier to control and manipulate. Sabotage prevents you from doing – and enjoying – things that matter to you.

Is The Effort Worth It?

It’s difficult to say if the effort to repair a damaged relationship is worth it or not. Can you fix an unhealthy relationship? It’s up to you to decide whether you feel it’s possible or not. Understand unhealthy relationship patterns and take action before it’s too late.

Take some time to talk to everyone involved and ensure your partner is as committed to restoring the relationship as you are. If you are the only one dedicated to this, then chances are your efforts are in vain and wouldn’t be worth it anyway.

With that said, there is no excuse for any form of abuse – emotional, physical, verbal, or otherwise. Please keep in mind that the signs of a toxic relationship are often subtle. Have you lost your sense of self?

Do you feel like you’re walking on eggshells around your partner? If so, then don’t be afraid to seek out help if you need it. Those signs are the answer to the question, “what is the impact of an unhealthy relationship?”

About the author

Guest Author

I share technology, business, and personal development insights as a guest author. With a background in computer science and tech industry experience, I offer practical tips and actionable advice to enhance skills and achieve goals. Whether it's optimizing productivity, improving mental health, or navigating the digital world, I'm committed to helping others succeed. When not writing, I explore new technologies, read about industry developments, or enjoy the outdoors.

Add Comment

Click here to post a comment

Join Now for Monthly Newsletter
Signup for Our Newsletter
Email *
First Name *
Last Name *
* Required Field

Media of the day

Follow Us

To keep yourself up-to-date with the inspirational untold stories, research highlights and benefits from a range of useful resources.