Relationships

9 Warning Signs Of A Dysfunctional Relationship

Dysfunctional relationships are relationships that create more emotional turmoil than satisfaction. Relationships are part of the human experience. But what happens if one or both people have never been involved in a happy relationship, or had one modeled for them as a child? Chances are they will participate in a dysfunctional relationship.

A dysfunctional or an about-to-be dysfunctional relationship always has warning signs. Here is a list of some:

1. Addictive/obsessive attitude: When one develops an addictive or obsessive attitude and seems overly focused on themselves or the other.

2. Imbalance of power: You always feel that you are the only one working at 150% at making the relationship work. It is not a good sign when they seem to make no effort at all.

3. Tensions show up regularly: Little things that cause tension are always present..... Like money, friends, love, work or anything else, but they seem to take on a disproportional importance.

4. Feeling cornered: either of the partners can get a feeling of being cornered or trapped into a situation that s/he would not like to have got into in the first place.

5. Inferiority/superiority complex: If any one of the partners in a relationship begins developing an inferiority/superiority complex. Relationships are based on equality and trust; therefore no one should consider himself superior or inferior in comparison to the other.

6. The feeling of frustration: Every relationship has little frustrations here and there, but when they persist and just keep cropping up as soon as one is dealt with, something is certainly wrong.

7. Constant unhappiness: If you do the "are you happy" check often, then something isn't just right! ? If you are constantly unhappy or mentally bogged down, because there is a nagging doubt or a feeling that something is not going right, it is time to evaluate the situation. This can happen when you just cannot reconcile your desires, your feelings and your needs with the other person and neither can he, with yours.

8. Being unsure and insecure: You are so unsure of yourself that you hesitate to do things. So you spend a lot of time thinking about what if it would end up causing a rift in your relationship. In other words, when you go from being spontaneous to overcautious about doing things you like to do. Being unsure brings with it a feeling of insecurity.

9. Fear, jealousy, obsession, non-involvement, manipulation, distrust, suspicion, disrespect and an uncaring attitude are the usual suspects. If there is continuity in any of these behavioral traits, then your relationship is on its way to being past history.

These are a few warning signs of a dysfunctional relationship. If you happen to notice any of these, take preventive measures immediately and address the situation. As you may already know, band-aid measures won't work, look for long-term solutions. Perhaps the most commonly used and least effective solution to problems in relationships is to ignore them and hope they go away. They never go away unless addressed and taken care of - in love.

All the best....