Kinds of Temptations That Can Put a Strain on Romantic Relationship
We all want to find our “other” person who will be there for us through thick and thin and love us just as we are. But being in a relationship always requires compromising and some adjustments, and staying “just the way you are” can be a death sentence to any relationship.
When you’re tempted to engage in destructive behaviors to your partner’s mental or physical well-being, you create distrust between the two of you. If you want to ensure your current or future relationships are built on a solid foundation that continues to strengthen through the years, avoid these nine romantic relationship-killer temptations.
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Cheating
For most of us, this is obvious. However, unfaithfulness is often a byproduct of growing up in unhealthy environments or a constant need for validation and attention from others. When you are considering cheating, even if you haven’t acted on it yet, there’s a problem that needs to be addressed.
Talk to a trusted mentor or a counselor to get to the root of the issue before you destroy your relationship. Remember that chances are your significant other will find out, and when they do, it will severely damage their mental health and create trust issues that will stay with them for a long time. Cheating may not mean a big deal to you, but it damages the person being cheated on in powerful, dangerous ways.
Lying
Let’s be honest. We all engage in the occasional white lie to make someone else feel better about themselves. But compulsive lying or lying to get out of trouble are signs of an unhealthy relationship. Have those hard conversations, and you’ll either end a relationship that shouldn’t have gone on much longer or turn the right one into a better, stronger version.
Addictions
Addictions manifest in various ways, but they all damage a relationship. Whether you’re addicted to gambling, shopping, porn, or substances, seek help before your addiction destroys your life and takes down the people you love. The hard part is reaching out, but once you do, plenty of organizations are ready to help you. Type what you’re looking for, such as “inpatient treatment near Pasadena,” into your search engine and find promising results.
Separate Lives
You have your life, including work and friends; your partner has theirs. Never the two shall meet. This red flag tells you the two of you don’t have enough interests to sustain a long-term relationship. You may love each other, but your lifestyles are better suited to friends.
Lack of Effort
Do you feel like you and your partner are more like roommates than lovers? There’s a saying that if you always put the same effort into keeping your relationship that you did to hook your partner, you’ll never lose them. Both sides must always work to keep the relationship strong, considering there will be seasons when one party will work harder than the other. As long as this is equitable, it won’t foster resentment.
Fighting
How do you and your partner fight? If you have the temptation to scream and yell, you’re teaching each other that you don’t value their opinions and thoughts. You scream and yell at someone you don’t respect and teach them not to respect you in return. Find healthy ways to talk out your disagreements.
Discounting Differing Values
When you started your relationship, you knew the bare bones of who your partner was. As you get to know each other, you may discover that your values don’t align. For instance, your religious beliefs may conflict, or your views on family and parenting aren’t compatible. If you can’t use the pointers in Number 6 to work out your differences, your relationship will be substantially strained.
Hiding Things
Are there texts between you and a friend you don’t want your partner to see because you know they’ll get upset? Did you spend too much money, and do you think hiding the receipts and charges would be better? You may think that “omitting” the truth (he didn’t ask, so you didn’t tell) is okay, but hiding is a slippery slope to lying and could break your relationship.
Uneven Distribution of Responsibilities
There is no such thing as a partner who “helps” with the chores. They live in the home, eat and sleep there, and are just as responsible for the mess as the other partners. On the other side, there’s no such thing as one breadwinner. Even if one person works and the other stays at home with the kids, paying the bills’s an equal responsibility and ensuring the living costs don’t exceed income. Divide the responsibilities so both sides know the other person’s workload and share it equitably.
