By Corina • 8 Comments
Do you think that you’re having a lot of unhealthy arguments with your partner lately? Well, even though sometimes an argument can help you clarify a lot of things, in the long term it can really damage your relationship. I couldn’t agree more with what Gina Binder, therapist, said on this matter: “Some degree of healthy arguments are important. Think about the power of debate. When two people present their opposing views in a respectful and passionate way, understanding flows back and forth.” Make sure you learn how to fight in a healthy way, so your behavior will not endanger your relationship. Here are a few obvious signs that you’re having unhealthy arguments with your partner:
One of the clearest signs that you’re having unhealthy arguments with your partner is precisely your need to win all the time, because this attitude actually fuels those arguments. Usually, when one of the partners wants to win in a fight, the other one becomes defensive and in the long term, you both lose.
Communication is the key to a healthy relationship. The fact that you're not really listening to your partner when you’re having an argument is a very obvious sign that you’re not fighting fair. Usually, in a fight, people tend to ignore what their partner is saying and they are only focusing on what they are going to say.
When you’re having an argument with your partner, it’s extremely important to take turns, so you’ll have the opportunity to understand your significant other’s standpoint. If you lose the ability to take turns, then you’re not really communicating efficiently and you’re only damaging your relationship and your happiness.
If you allow anger or raging emotions to enter your argument, you’re actually doing more harm than good, since this is not a good way to have a healthy conversation. That anger can make you use tones and words that can demean, hurt and that can make you easily deviate from “the rational platform” of your disagreement.
If you are usually arguing about the same things in the same way, then you’re doing it wrong. If you realize that you can’t seem to clarify a certain thing from the past that bothers both of you, then try a different approach. By doing the same thing over and over again, you’re only refusing to accept that you see certain things differently and you’re actually doing nothing to solve that problem.
Do you usually raise your voice when you’re arguing with your partner? If your answer is yes, then you definitely should do something to learn how to fight fair. In an argument, if you raise your voice and if your tone becomes harsher, then your partner will not really listen to what you have to say, since they will only focus on how you're sending that message.
There are a lot of things on which you and your partner will not agree, but the fact that neither of you steps away from the argument when you’re fighting is not helping you. Just try to accept the fact that you are different and that you have the right to have your own opinions.
Unhealthy arguments can really damage your relationship in the long term, so try to do something to turn them into healthy ones because this way, both you and your partner will be happier together. Do you know any other signs of an unhealthy argument? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section!
Sources: yourtango.com