Are you in love or afraid of being alone? 6 signs say it all
This question can be uncomfortable, but it’s important. Listening to your heart often brings clarity. When you consider what anchors your relationship, what brings you joy, what causes you unrest, answers can come unexpectedly.
A healthy relationship is about more than just time spent together. Genuine connection, mutual respect, and unwavering trust allow us to be our most authentic selves. In contrast, a lack of these foundations can lead to toxicity, no matter how long two people have been together. So what really keeps people in a relationship? It’s not just love. It’s feeling understood. It’s growing together through change. It’s choosing each other every day, not out of fear of being alone, but because life feels more fulfilling with that person. How do you know if your relationship is based on love or fear of being alone? Psychotherapist Dr Chandni Tugnait shares 6 signs.
You know exactly what feels right. The lack of passion and the quiet joy you feel with someone you love may indicate that you are staying in a relationship because of the familiarity factor that makes you feel safe. Routines, shared history, predictability, even if you no longer feel connected, all come easier than the unknown.
Let’s face it, when you enter a relationship, it’s like a partnership where both of you are emotionally invested and make certain adjustments for the other’s well-being. Sometimes, you can forget what life feels like without your significant other. Your identity is so tied to the relationship that being alone feels like being a nobody. That’s not love, it’s emotional dependency.
If you are emotionally over-dependent on your partner, the idea of leaving will panic you rather than upset you. If you are staying just to avoid discomfort, you are not choosing love; you are avoiding fear. You are settling for “not bad” and convincing yourself that the relationship is not bad enough to leave. But “not terrible” is not the same as “really satisfying. ” 4. CONVINCING If your relationship is truly unsatisfying, the thought of leaving may cross your mind frequently. You may often convince yourself to stay. You may list reasons, reminisce, and justify things that no longer feel deeply compatible.
When asked how you really feel, you change the subject, even in your mind. If you avoid sitting with your true feelings because you're afraid of what the answer might be, you're probably maintaining comfort, not connection.
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