5 Relationship Killers and How to Avoid Them

Don’t let your relationship fail. Learn about 5 relationship killers and begin to heal the underlying fears that cause these relationship killers.
As a relationship counselor, I am constantly being asked why so many relationships fail. In the 37 years that I have worked with couples, I have discovered five major relationship killers:



CONTROLLING BEHAVIOR

Most people enter a relationship with a deep fear of rejection, and this fear motivates various forms of controlling behavior. Controlling behavior falls into two major categories – overt control and covert control.

Overt control includes many forms of attack, such as blaming anger, rage, violence, judgment, criticism and ridicule.

Covert control includes compliance, enabling, withdrawal, defending, explaining, lying and denying. Often a person at the other end of attack will respond with some form of covert control in an attempt to have control over not being attacked.

Controlling behavior always results in resentment and emotional distance, bringing about the very rejection that it is meant to avoid.

RESISTANCE

Many people enter a relationship with a deep fear of being engulfed and controlled – of losing themselves. The moment they experience their partner wanting control over them, they respond with resistance – withdrawal, unconsciousness, numbness, forgetfulness, and procrastination.

When one partner is controlling and the other is resistant – which is really an attempt to have control over not being controlled - the relationship becomes immobilized. Partners in this relationship system feel frustrated, stagnant, and resentful.

NEEDINESS

Many people enter a relationship believing that it is their partner’s job to fill their emptiness, take away their aloneness, and make them feel good about themselves. When people have not learned how to take responsibility for their own feelings and needs, and to define their own self-worth, they may pull on their partner and others to fill them with the love they need.

SUBSTANCE AND PROCESS ADDICTIONS

Most people who feel empty inside turn to substance and process addictions in an attempt to fill their emptiness and take away the pain of their aloneness and loneliness. Alcohol and drug abuse, food, spending, gambling, busyness, Internet sex and pornography, affairs, work, TV, accumulating things, beautifying, and so on, can all be used as ways to fill emptiness and avoid fears of failure, inadequacy, rejection and engulfment. And they are all ways of shutting out your partner.

EYES ON PARTNER'S PLATE
'Till Death Do Us Part: Love, Marriage, and the Mind of the Killer Spouse
Many people are acutely aware of what their partner is doing that is causing relationship problems, but completely unaware of what they are doing. For example, you might be very aware of your partner’s resistance or withdrawal, but totally unaware of your own judgmental behavior. You might be very aware of your partner’s anger, but completely unaware of your own compliance. You might be very aware of your partner’s addictive behavior, but very unaware of your own enabling. As long as your eyes are on your partner instead of on yourself, you will continue to believe that if only your partner changed, everything would be okay.

RESOLVING RELATIONSHIP KILLERS
Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer's Daughter
All relationship killers come from fear – of inadequacy, of failure, of rejection and of engulfment. As long as you are coming from any of these fears, you will be behaving in one or more of the above ways.

The way out is to develop a loving adult self who knows how to take full responsibility for your own feelings and needs. You will move beyond controlling, needy and addictive behavior only when you learn how to fill your self with love and define your own inner worth. When you are willing to take your eyes off your partner’s plate and turn your eyes fully on yourself, you can begin to do the inner healing work necessary to heal yourself and your relationship.

A good place to start is to download our free Inner Bonding course and begin to practice the Six Steps of Inner Bonding. The daily practice of these steps will move you out of your addictive and controlling behavior and into the personal responsibility necessary to heal your relationship.

Coping with Infidelity - Can Your Marriage Be Saved?

There are all kinds of problems marriage run into, but one of the most difficult is coping with infidelity. In fact, an affair is often listed as the single hardest thing for a couple to live through - even more difficult than money problems! It's really not that surprising, given the overwhelming emotions that come with the subject of cheating - you and your partner are going to deal with a mixture of anger, blame, sadness, guilt, and despair. These emotions can cause your marital problems to spiral out of control very quickly!

On top of all the other issues that come with coping with infidelity, you have to decide if your marriage is even worth saving. Can your marriage be saved? Affairs cause more divorces than just about any other issue, so it's pretty easy to become cynical and think that your marriage is beyond repair.

Truth be told, any marriage can make it through an affair, but it will be a lot easier if you can honestly say these things about your spouse:

• Your spouse told you about the affair voluntarily, instead of you finding out about it yourself.
• Your spouse was honest with you about the details of the affair.
• Your spouse is truly sorry that he or she had the affair.
• Your spouse has agreed to end the affair, or has already ended it.
• Your spouse has agreed to work with you to rebuild your relationship.
  

Even if all of these things are true, coping with infidelity without relationship help will be quite difficult. One of the most highly rated resources is a course called Save the Marriage - it's helped thousands of couples restore their messages without counseling, couples retreats, or other expensive and time consuming commitments.