How to Assess the Viability of Your Relationship

Almost every relationship could be saved. But not every relationship should be saved.

If things aren't going as well as they could be with your relationship with your mate, it's time for you to evaluate the strength and vitality of your relationship and assess whether salvaging it is a viable course of action.

When Things Go Wrong

Relationship problems can run the gamut from being bored with your mate to being miserable with him. A major determinant of whether your relationship should be saved is largely dependent upon whether it is suffering from a mild case of temporary general relationship malaise or whether it is in the final debilitating stages of a chronic and fatal terminal relationship illness.

The symptoms of general relationship malaise can be subtle and difficult to detect, even by the individuals who are involved in it. Its first signs are when little things your mate does start to get on your nerves. The initial symptoms may temporarily subside from time to time; but they never completely go away. At this stage, the problem is usually not severe enough for you to attempt to actively address the matter. Instead, you simply ignore it and hope it goes away. But it doesn't. It grows and it festers until, eventually, it can no longer be ignored.

You start to see your lover in a different light. Everything he does annoys you. He bores you. You become frustrated, and you begin to feel guilty because you want to spend less and less time with your lover. You find yourself avoiding your lover and spending more and more time with other people. As you continue to drift apart, you believe you no longer have much in common, and you believe that the two of you have become incompatible.