Is Your Relationship in Trouble?
Relationships rarely break down overnight. There are inevitably some major warning signs. If you recognise any of the following, you may have some work to do to get love back on track.
Your life priorities have changed significantly.
Major life changes often force people to reconsider what's important. This can make a once-healthy partnership lose its bearings. It's unlikely that these changes will just take care of themselves.
Talking may help but if the changes really are serious you may need counselling to help you work through your own changes and to explore/re-prioritise the values within your relationship.
Talking may help but if the changes really are serious you may need counselling to help you work through your own changes and to explore/re-prioritise the values within your relationship.
The arrangement still works, but the passion is missing.
Lots of relationships manage to work very well for a while. But when neither partner has any genuine enthusiasm for the relationship it may be in trouble. Work at trying to reignite the passion and excitement in your relationship.
You no longer trust your partner.
After a partner has broken the bond of trust it can be difficult to get it back. If your partner has had an affair or was irresponsible with a large amount of money, it's understandable that you feel angry and hurt.Broken trust can cause serious harm to a relationship, and, if it's not healed, the relationship may simply not recover. Counselling can help you through this traumatic time.
Your partner's lifestyle or values clash with yours.
It's hard to sustain a long-term relationship when you don't agree on some of life's most basic things. If you want to make and spend a lot of money, but your partner seeks a simple life and would be happy living in a small house with few luxuries, this is a potential problem. If your partner seeks excitement and wants to be around people most of the time but you are happier at home just the two of you, you may find yourselves growing apart. You may have been attracted to each other in the beginning because you brought each other some balance, but, over the long term, the very things that drew you to each other may harm your relationship. Again, counselling could help.
There are more serious warning signs
If your partner regularly does one or more of the following things, you may have good reason to be concerned. You might want to seek professional counselling advice.
1. Behaves abusively with your friends and family
2. Betrays your trust3. Breaks promises
4. Cheats on you
6. Fails to support your goals in life
7. Is extremely jealous without cause
8. Doesn't make a fair financial contribution
9. Opposes or ignores your thoughts, feelings, or concerns
10. Physically abuses you
11. Pressures you to have sex when you're not interested
12. Resists your attempts to improve the relationship
13. Shares your secrets with others
14. Tells lies regularly
15. Threatens violence
16. Tries to isolate you from your friends and family
17. Verbally abuses you or puts you down
These behaviours are potentially pretty serious and can be dangerous to you and your self-esteem.
Relationship Counselling Support in Edinburgh
If you're having problems, counselling can help you cope by empowering you to respond differently to stressful situations whether at work or at home. The counsellor will work with you for you to make changes in your behaviour and response to others. Resolving stress can lead to the resolution of problems and a healthier life. Counselling is usually of limited duration of between 6 to 20 sessions.
Useful Sites
Relate offers advice, relationship counselling, sex therapy, workshops, mediation, consultations and support face-to-face, by phone and through their website. Click here to visit.
The BBC website offers excellent advice on all aspects of managing your relationship. Click here to visit
Experiencing problems in YOUR relationship? It may help to discuss it with others. Click here to visit our forums or post a comment below.....
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