What are the symptoms of relationship addiction?

Posted by admin on September 10, 2011 under Relationship addiction, Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

The symptoms of relationship addiction can be seen quite easily when you are the person looking at another couple’s interactions. However, when you are the co-dependent it is sometimes difficult to realise the situation you are in. Sometimes it is self denial or you may not genuinely see it. The purpose of this talk is to bring up some of the signs you will see with this form of addiction as well as a series of questions for you. This is just in the event you are the person suffering from co-dependency in the union and need an eye opener.

If you are this way and you are in a potentially toxic relationship then now you can definitely get the help which you need to move on.

What exactly is relationship or love addiction?

This occurs when a person cannot function or live normally unless they have a partner in their life. It does not matter if the partner is good, bad or abusive. These persons would rather be with someone than be alone. Therefore as a result these persons would take more abuse than a regular person and bend over backwards to keep the union intact. Everyone would like a happy ending but when you look at the symptoms of a relationship addict they tend to go overboard.

As a result sometimes they can be perceived as jealous or obsessive because of the amount of effort they put in to keep the partnership going. Things which you may not consider a big deal these persons will (for example he or she may be threaten if you were to say hi to the opposite sex).

What are the signs to look for?

Since you know what it is now then it is pretty easy to figure out the main symptoms of relationship addiction. We have itemised them below so you would recognise when a love one is in this disposition:

• A noticeable change of character when out of a relationship such as depression or anxiety especially if the person barely knew the other individual.
• Moving from relationship to relationship in short periods of time without being given time to recover from the previous break up.
• The inability to break off detrimental associations because of fear of being alone. It may mean break ups and make up continuously with the person because they cannot let go.
•  Being subservient to the other person in order to make them happy. This can also be considered as a form of over compromising.
• Jealous tendencies and possessiveness in the relationship especially in the form of great mood swings.
• The relationship is the center of the universe in which everything is secondary to the love addict including basic needs.
• He or she is putting far much more into the relationship than the other person (e.g. far from the 50/50)

If you see these signs or symptoms by an individual you know then chances are these persons are very co-dependent. As mentioned earlier it is great to put your union first however when you start to compromise your dignity and needs then it is a problem.

How do I know that I am a love addict?

The symptoms of relationship addiction will be there the only problem is that you may not be able see it because you are in the situation. Below are seven key questions which will help you self diagnose your problem. If you answer yes to three or more of these questions chances are you do have a problem.

• Do you feel that you cannot live without this relationship?
• Do you continuously manipulate your spouse often to maintain the relationship? (Try to control)
• Have you neglected or forgot major events due to your partner? (E.g. work meetings etc)
• Have you overlooked numerous serious issues to maintain the union? (Cheating spouse, abusive spouse)
• Are you generally contributing a great deal more to maintain a partnership than the other person? (There is no 50%-50% balance)
• Do you have a history of continuously moving from relationship to relationship? (E.g. did you have three or more relationships within the year?)
• Do you or your partner try to change the other person character forcibly?

If you show the signs of a relationship addict and would like to move away from a toxic relationship then it is recommended to get help. For more general information take a look at our recommended books below on this general topic.