If you’ve been in a relationship that has gone on for any length of time you know that there are bound to be some rough patches along the way.  Things get said that we don’t always mean and on occasion clothes get thrown out of a third story window, okay that only happened once but I lost my favorite shirt during that particular meltdown. The relationship was still solid but it was just one of those rare and avoidable arguments between two strong willed people. But what if there is more to it than just a rough patch and an avoidable argument, what if there is really a significant underlying problem. The signs your relationship is having some trouble are usually pretty obvious…to everybody else.  So here are some

warning signs to recognize if your relationship is in trouble. At what point your relationship may not be worth saving is completely up to you, but if you identify a lot of these in your relationship, it may be time to start thinking about trying something different.

Is a major topic of conversation with family and friends about your relationship, and most of the discussion is of a negative tone? This is often one of the early signs that there may be some issues at home that need addressing. This is often accompanied by significant personality change in which you start feeling like your confidence and self-respect has increasingly diminished.

Another key indication that your relationship is in trouble is when you start finding reasons to do activities without your partner. It may be something as ordinary as going to the gym or meeting friends for a cooking class, but the point is that you are becoming more comfortable doing such activities on your own and generally feel stressed when doing these things with your partner.

Have you found that you and your partner are telling little white lies more and more often? Are these little lies becoming of more significance and are now at the point where trust has become a major issue in your relationship? Trust is a key element of any successful relationship.

Signs that your relationship is in trouble usually starts with small things and grows into things that only a marriage counselor or a restraining order can fix. Quite often small things that can be fixed with just a bit of constructive conversation grow into full blow screaming matches for no apparent reason other than the sight and sound of your partner irritates you. Basically things that are for all intents and purposes meaningless give way to intense confrontation.

There comes a point at which these issues become mostly irreversible and often those involved in the relationship tend to find comfort in other people. The phrase “any port in a storm” comes to mind. By this time most have already mentally checked out of the relationship and are just finding ways to cover their butts in regards to finances and personal property. The situation becomes even more complicated and tragic if there are also children involved.

There is a huge difference between identifying the signs that your relationship is in trouble and know how to fix a bad relationship. You also need to think about how to decide if a relationship is worth saving.  These are things that only you can determine but hopefully some the tips on identifying the signs of a bad relationship in this article will help you move forward in a positive and happy way so you can put the sparks back in your relationship.