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1. Things that ruin a happy relationship

We all dream of having our ‘happily ever after’ but like all dreams, if we don’t work hard to make it happen, it never would. And sometimes, we end up doing things that sabotage our chances of having a good and healthy relationship. Whether we are aware of it or not, our actions can cause irreversible damage to a stable relationship. Here are 7 ways how a perfect relationship can be ruined thereby destroying our chances to attaining a ‘happily ever after’.

2. Social sabotage

Social sabotage involves speaking negatively about a partner without his or her knowledge, sharing private information about the partner with the intention of shaming him or her in public, etc. In fact, a study published in the ‘Journal of Family Psychology’ agrees to this fact—social sabotage is a form of passive aggressiveness that can slowly push a relationship to an extreme end.

3. Kitchen thinking

According to experts, kitchen thinking, which involves thinking something about the past during a fight that might be totally unrelated, can sabotage a relationship beyond repair. The term ‘kitchen thinking’ is inspired from ‘kitchen sinking’—throwing everything at a partner expect the kitchen sink—which is a combative strategy where a person attacks a partner with a barrage of complaints with an attempt to take him or her off guard. But in ‘kitchen thinking’ you might not say it out loud but think about incidents and complaints that would increase your negativity towards a partner.

4. Silent treatment

According to a study published in the journal ‘Communication Monographs’, couples who withdraw into a shell or give each other a silent treatment, are less likely to have a happy relationship. The reason being simple, lack of communication leaves issues unaddressed. And that cannot be healthy for a relationship, right?

5. Comparing with others

Thanks to social media, we now have an uncensored view of other’s life and relationship. Thereby making it easy for people to compare their lives with that of their friends and acquaintances. Sadly, it does not just end at comparison because it also gives rise to the competition of ‘if they can, so should we.’ This might often lead to fights between couples when one partner is pushed by the other to do things, like going on an exotic vacation or dining regularly at an expensive restaurant, just to keep pace with their friends.

6. Negativity towards a partner’s parents

We all hold our parents in high esteem. They mean the world to us. And we expect our partners to love and show respect to our parents. Now, if a person harbors negative thoughts or talks negatively about his or her partner’s parents, it can spell doom for even the strongest relationship.

7. Breaking-up impulsively for the wrong reasons, again and again

Breaking-up with a partner requires a lot of emotional energy but there are people who would not think twice before breaking-up with a partner for the silliest of reasons. If you have this impulsive habit of parting ways with your partner only to be reconciled later, this could cause a dent in your relationship in the long run.

8. Not respecting a partner’s privacy

It’s true that when a couple is in a relationship, they should share everything with each other. But that does not mean they should be deprived of privacy. If you constantly nag your partner to share the password of his or her phone, want to know every detail of your partner’s bank account, etc., you surely are digging a grave for the relationship.

TNN/timesofindia.indiatimes.com