Is Your Relationship in Trouble? – 7 Signs It’s Time to Seek a Marriage Therapist
For better or worse. Through sickness and health.
The vows you make to your spouse look differently in the everyday practice of marriage.
All marriages and relationships experience highs and lows, but sometimes you need help from a professional to manage them. Could you benefit from couples therapy?
Perhaps you’re unsure.
First and foremost, it is crucial to remind yourself that couples therapy can be useful in different stages of a marriage.
Not every couple who goes to see a couple’s therapist is on the brink of splitting up, nor does therapy mean that you or your spouse has failed. But for the couples who do feel that their marriage is sinking, therapy can act as a life saver.
Most often, couples therapy is a fruitful endeavor during the challenging times of marriage to help strengthen and repair the commitments a couple has made to each other.
So, how do you know when it is time to see a couples therapist?
7 Signs That You Should Talk to a Marriage Therapist
1. Your past has become your present
Do you and your spouse seem to argue about the same thing again and again? Perhaps there is something in your past that you just can’t let go of?
When you can’t or find it difficult to resolve situations, your relationship becomes a repeating loop of the past. Couples therapy provides partners with the tools and space to break out of the cycle and create a better future.
2. Your sex life has taken a turn for the worse
Every relationship experiences its own ruts when it comes to sex. Usually, when this happens, couples try to get creative and regenerate that spark. However, if your relationship settles into a sexual funk or you begin to think about or participate in cheating, you could, most likely, benefit from therapy.
3. Major life events
A life change that may warrant therapy can be anything from having kids (even though they are joys), finances, the death of a loved one, or trauma. During these challenging times, you may need an extra bit of support and assistance to ensure effective communication and emotional care.
4. You are looking outside of your marriage for comfort/companionship
Cheating or building emotional bonds with others that replace the support of your spouse are all clear signs that it’s time to get help from a professional.
Another sign can be the lack of or fear of communicating with your partner. Therapy is a designated space that encourages communication between partners and guides the conversations in productive directions.
5. When affection becomes conditional
Love should be an unconditional act but, in a troubled relationship, it can sometimes be a weapon to punish your partner. If you or your loved one withhold affection as a form of punishment, play tit-for-tat, or seem to hold onto a grudge, there are probably some unresolved issues that need a bit of working out.
6. You are living separate lives
You don’t have to be fighting, cheating, or harboring secrets to be in a troublesome relationship. If you have fallen into living separate lives in order to avoid conflict, therapy is definitely in order.
Relationships should have passion, frustrations, and joys!
If you and your partner do not share social circles or engagements, or participate in each other’s interests and projects, you are in need of some re-falling in love. Therapy is the source to finding the qualities in one another that you love and are excited by, reigniting the passion!
7. You are in love with your partner
If you are in love with your partner, wouldn’t you want to seek any aid that strengthens it? For longevity and better communication in a relationship, therapy is a widely effective tool.
If you ask yourself the big question, “Do I still love my partner?”, and answer yes, don’t be afraid to enter therapy for the bumps that occur along the way to a happy life. Therapy does not mean that there isn’t any love left in the relationship but that there is plenty left to fight for!
Celebrate the life you have built with your partner while finding the tools to ensure its success in couples therapy. Recognizing the signs of a troubled relationship is the first steps towards seeking the proper support you need to mend the vows you made to each other long ago.
