7 Signs Your Emotional Needs Are Neglected in Your Relationship

Relationships require several things. They are complex and take work to keep up. One of the most important aspects of a relationship is the emotional side of it. Relationships need balance and teamwork to work well. However, it is easy for emotional needs to go unchecked and unsatisfied.

With emotional requirements not being met, relationships can fall apart and end. There is always time to learn to work with each other and mend your relationship before it results in a breakup. The first step to working on this is to identify whether or not your emotional needs are being taken care of within your relationship.

How can you tell if the emotional facet of your relationship is being taken care of or not? Here are 7 signs that your emotional needs are being neglected in your relationship.

1. Your partner always focuses on themselves

Every person needs to have at least some focus on themselves to make sure they are in a good place. The term, “Put your mask on first,” refers to this as well. You need to take care of yourself before being with someone else and sharing some of their own issues. However, there is such a thing as spending too much time caring about yourself. If your partner is constantly only thinking about themselves and not about you and your wishes, then chances are that your needs are being neglected.

This doesn’t go just with your hardships, but also your triumphs. If they are ignoring both the good and the bad parts of your life, but want you to pay attention to theirs, that is a problem. Both people in a relationship should be there with their partner, celebrating the good times and working through the bad ones. If there isn’t that balance, then your relationship can topple over.

2. Your relationship lacks affection

Every relationship should have affection as a part of it. Both people in a relationship should care for one another and love each other. If your relationship feels cold and you don’t feel any affection from your partner, maybe it’s time to bring it up with them. Loving one another is what creates a relationship in the first place. Though that feeling may die down a bit after the honeymoon phase, you should still be able to feel your partner’s love for you. There is always time to try and reignite that spark!

3. Your relationship lacks communication

Communication is absolutely key in a relationship. Without communication, there is no way to know if your partner is happy or for your partner to know if you are happy within your relationship as it is. If there are issues you don’t talk about, they can create even more issues over time. Ultimately, if there is no communication, then the relationship will fall apart. Though talking about difficult issues may be hard, it’s better than not talking about them at all.

4. You feel resentment towards your partner

A relationship should hold happiness and love within it. Though there will be rough patches, there should be no harboring hatred in a relationship. If you feel resentment towards your partner for something they are doing or haven’t been doing, it should be addressed. Keeping those negative feelings to yourself will only result in disaster late in your relationship. Talk to your partner about what may be bothering you and how they can fix it.

5. You confide in others, but not your partner

It is completely normal to vent to your friends about issues or decisions in your life. However, your partner should be close enough to you for you to feel comfortable venting to them. If you are only talking to other people besides your partner, that is a red flag. Trying to open up to your partner more may be difficult, but it will help your relationship in the long run.

6. There is no fighting in your relationship

This one may seem strange, but fighting is a healthy part of a relationship when it happens in moderation. No relationship is perfect and everyone has their differences. If there isn’t any fighting in your relationship, there may be some hidden issues under the surface. Though this may not be the case for every relationship, the majority of people in relationships fight at least once in a while.

7. You feel lonely in the relationship

One of the biggest perks of being in a relationship having someone to be around and share your life with. Every human needs that attachment and connection with someone. If you feel lonely while being in a relationship, then you probably aren’t as connected as you once thought you were. Spending more time with that special someone and learning more about them may benefit you and your relationship.

Overall, every relationship has needs that need to be met. Both parties in that relationship need equal and fair treatment. However, it’s not always that simple. Though your relationship may be neglecting some of those emotional needs, there is always time to fix it. We hope that you have identified what can be fixed and how it can be fixed in your relationship regarding your emotional needs!

References

Brainy Dose. “6 Warning Signs Your Emotional Needs Are Not Met In A Relationship.” YouTube, 20 Dec. 2020, www.youtube.com/results?search_query=6%2Bwarning%2Bsigns%2Byour%2Bemotional%2Bneeds%2Baren%27t%2Bmet%2Bin%2Ba%2Brelationship.

Uniacke, Katie. “14 Signs Of Emotional Neglect In A Relationship.” A Conscious Rethink, 17 Dec. 2020, www.aconsciousrethink.com/14549/emotional-neglect-in-a-relationship/.

Webb, Jonice. “Three Signs You Are in an Emotionally Neglectful Relationship.” Psych Central, Psych Central, 10 Jan. 2016, www.psychcentral.com/blog/childhood-neglect/2016/01/three-signs-you-are-in-an-emotionally-neglectful-relationship#1.