It is absolutely painful to see a romantic relationship between two partners that once flourished with love and happiness, turns into a broken one. A broken romantic relationship can cause pain and frustration, which is why it is worth giving a shot to repair it.
A healthy and strong romantic relationship can give you happiness, support, and companionship that can aid you to achieve overall growth and well-being in your life. In today’s article, we aim to discuss the topic of “how to fix a broken relationship and how you can make it last forever” in a more practical manner.
In the beginning, it must be said that fixing a broken romantic relationship is not an easy task. However, with enough dedication and patience, it may be possible to repair your broken romantic relationship into a thriving and strong one.
So, I invite you to read more on the topics that have been discussed below and to take the necessary actions in order to fix your broken relationship. So, let’s get started.
Contents
Identifying the Issues That Broke Your Romantic Relationship
First, you need to identify the issues that caused your romantic relationship to break down. It may be a specific event or a pattern of behavior over time. The best way to do this is by having an open and honest conversation with your partner.
It may be a difficult and uncomfortable step. But it is crucial that you identify the causes that damaged trust, communication, or intimacy in order to restore your romantic relationship. The conversation must be non-judgmental because the purpose of this is that both you and your partner to share your own perspective clearly to understand what went wrong.
Here are a few tips that can help you to have an honest and open conversation with your partner.
Pick the Right When and Where
You need to choose the right time and right place to share your views/perspectives without any distractions and interruptions. So, pick a time when both of you feel calm and relaxed, and choose a place where there are no distractions to disturb your conversation.
Be Clear
Before starting, you both need to agree that the conversation should be non-judgemental. Once agreed, both of you need to clearly demonstrate the issues that you have individually. Always use specific examples/events that happened to illustrate the issues that are damaging your relationship. You always need to avoid vague statements since those can cause misunderstandings.
Listen to Your Partner
Both of you need to listen to each other’s perspectives without disturbing each other. Instead, try to understand what your partner is saying without interrupting.
Don’t Blame or Criticize
Both partners have a role in the relationship. Therefore, it is essential that both of you take responsibility for your part in what went wrong without blaming each other or criticizing your partner. Instead, focus on the problem at hand.
Find a Solution Together
After identifying what went wrong in your romantic relationship, you both need to discuss and work together to find solutions that work for both of you.
Improve Communication Between You and Your Partner
Communication is a key element of a healthy and strong romantic relationship. If your relationship is broken, this is a critical area you must focus on carefully. Bad communication leads to misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and doubtfulness.
When you communicate with your partner, it should be clear and respectful. Also, you need to speak honestly and share your thoughts and feelings openly. This will avoid misunderstandings and hurt feelings.
Improved communication can help you to create a deeper understanding and connection between you and your partner which will further allow you to rebuild and repair the foundation of your relationship.
So how can you improve your communication between both of you? well, here are some practical tips for improving communication in your relationship:
Active Listening
Active listening is the practice of fully giving attention to what your partner has to say without interrupting or becoming defensive. When you are an active listener, you do not try to evaluate the message and offer your own opinion. Instead, you simply make your partner feel heard and validated. By doing this, you show that you value your partner’s thoughts and feelings and also you demonstrate that you are ready to work together to find a solution.
Using “I” Statements to Avoid Blame
Another important aspect of restoring a broken romantic relationship is to express your feelings while avoiding blame. Blaming your partner creates a negative atmosphere and only makes it more challenging to resolve conflicts between you two. It’s vital that you share what you feel. However, this should be done in a non-blaming way.
“I” statement is a great communication method that can assist you demonstrate your feelings without placing blame on your partner. For instance, when you say “You never support me”, your partner may feel attacked and as a result, he or she can become defensive which may cause an argument that eventually leads to a conflict between you two.
Instead, you can say that “I’m going through a lot in my work and I could use some extra support from you”. When you express what you have to say in this manner, you’re expressing your feelings without placing blame on your partner.
Here are a few ways you can use “I” statements when you communicate with your partner:
- “I feel sad when you talk to me in that tone of voice.”
- “I feel unheard when I try to communicate with you,”
- “I’m feeling that I’m neglected in our relationship, can we work on that together?”
- “I feel disrespected when you make plans without consulting me first.”
Using “I” statements is a great technique to communicate in a more constructive and respectful way. This will allow you to communicate your feelings and needs in a way that is more likely to lead to understanding and solutions, rather than defensiveness and conflict.
Avoid Heated Conversations
You always need to take a break from communicating when you feel like you both are heading toward a heated conversation. Taking breaks during a conversation or argument is a useful strategy for preventing things from escalating and making the situation worse. Once you both feel calmer, you can come back and continue the conversation.
However, it is important that you let your partner clearly know that you are taking a break only because things need to get cool down. Make sure that you give them the idea of you will be ready to continue from where you stopped once you both are cooled down. By following this method, you can approach the problems in your romantic relationship with a clearer mindset which is definitely a great way to find solutions.
Rebuild Trust Between You and Your Partner
Another fundamental element of a strong romantic relationship is trust. If trust is broken in your relationship, it can be a quite challenging task to restore it and rebuild the connection between you and your partner. Anyway, you need to give it a shot. Because sometimes, it is doable. However, it may take time and effort. So, you need to have patience.
First of all, let’s see how trust can be damaged in romantic relationships. There are a few answers to this such as cheating, lying, breaking promises, disrespecting, and lack of emotional support. If the reason for your damaged relationship is broken trust, let’s see what you and your partner can do to restore trust between each other.
Honesty
Honesty is a pillar of a healthy and romantic relationship. It is essential to be honest with your partner even when it’s difficult. You need to take ownership of your mistakes and admit when you are wrong.
Also, you need put away keeping things hidden from your partner. Secrets are toxic to relationships. Instead, be transparent about your actions. Also, be transparent about how you feel and what you think. If you are going through a hard time or struggling with something, be open to your partner about it.
Keep Promises
Another way to rebuild trust is by keeping the promises you make. If you promise that you would do something for your partner, make sure you do that. This is a good way to show that you’re reliable and dependable.
On top of that, if you cannot keep a promise, be sure to talk with your partner about the reason why you can’t keep it and try to arrange alternative arrangements if possible.
Consistency
Being consistent is another important way that you can rebuild trust. You need to put your effort into illustrating your trustworthy behavior constantly. You need to show up for your partner and show them that you’re reliable.
If you promise to change a certain behavior, stick to it over time. By being constant, you can show your partner that you are capable of behaving in a way that is consistent with your words.
Forgive
Another path you can take to restore trust is by forgiving. If your partner has betrayed you, you need to forgive him or her and move forward if you really want to fix the broken relationship.
However, forgiving does not mean forgetting what they did to you. Forgiving means releasing the negative feelings that you have towards your partner and being willing to move forward in a positive direction.
Once you let go of the anger and resentment it will allow you to heal your romantic relationship over time.
Show Empathy
Empathy is another quality that you can develop in order to strengthen your broken romantic relationship. Empathy simply means the ability to understand and share the feelings of your partner.
In a broken romantic relationship, both of you may feel angry, frustrated, and hurt. Therefore, showing empathy to each other is beneficial as it can establish trust, foster mutual understanding, and promote effective communication between partners.
So how can you develop empathy? There are many ways to do this. One way is to try to understand the perspective of your partner. When your partner demonstrates what they feel, you need to put yourself in their shoes and try to understand their point of view. This will allow you to create a sense of understanding between both of you.
Another way to show empathy is by validating your partner’s feelings. It means letting your partner know that you accept their emotions are real and that you understand how they feel. Assuring your partner that their voice is heard and their feelings are understood, is a great way to build trust.
Also actively listening to your partner and creating a space for open communication between both of you are also great ways to develop empathy. Overall, by showing empathy, you can open up a path to create a strong, healthy, and supportive relationship with your partner.
Make Positive Changes
In the journey of fixing your broken romantic relationship, it is fundamental to understand that mending current problems is not the only area you need to focus on. You also need to take action to prevent future problems as well. By taking proactive steps towards improvement, you and your partner can prevent recurring issues that could potentially harm the relationship.
You need to identify the areas that need to be improved and take the initiative to make positive changes. This can involve looking at your and your partner’s behavior in a critical manner, acknowledging the areas that need improvements, and discussing with your partner what sort of actions that require to be taken to fix the identified areas.
For instance, if you identify that you both did not spend some quality time before, and it was one of the reasons that damaged the relationship, just make it a positive change.
Identify activities that allow both of you to spend some quality time together and indulge in those activities. Likewise, discuss with your partner and try to mend the areas that require improvement and work towards a happier, healthier relationship.
Seek Professional Help
Sometimes no matter what actions you take, it could not work and you may fail to revive your broken romantic relationship. In such a situation, you need to obtain the assistance of a trained professional.
Seeking help from a therapist or relationship coach is a great way to navigate difficult problems in your romantic relationship and it will help both you and your partner to improve communication and understanding between each other. Because such professionals can provide a safe space to share your feelings and emotions and they can provide unbiased opinions and perspectives on the problematic areas of your romantic relationship.
However, you need to research and find a qualified therapist or relationship coach for this. You can ask for referrals from your friends or family members. If you search online for such a professional, make sure to check reviews. And also, you can seek assistance from professional organizations as well.
Conclusion
In summary, fixing a broken romantic relationship is not something that you can do overnight. It requires a commitment from both partners to identify the issues, improve communication, rebuild trust, show empathy, make positive changes, and seek professional help if required.
By following the above-suggested practical tips, you and your partner can work together to overcome challenges and turn your broken relationship into a strong and fulfilling one. It’s vital to remember that restoring a romantic relationship takes time, effort, and patience, but the rewards of a strong and healthy relationship are well worth it. So don’t lose hope or don’t give up, stay committed, and keep working towards a better future with your partner.
Read on – How to Make a Relationship Work? 05 Aspects of a Happy Relationship
