The 4 Major Break-Up Warning Signs

It's never fun having someone break up with you...that's pretty obvious. It hurts knowing that the person you care about thinks s/he will be better without you; and I'm sure it hurts even more when you're completely blind sided by the news.

The tell-tale signs of a potential breakup will always be eminent; you just need to know what to look out for. I'm aware of the fact there are dozens of indicators that point to relationship problems, but I'm just going to focus on the FOUR signs which indicate that a break-up is very likely to happen in the near future.

...once you notice these signs, you can either address the issues before it's too late or let nature take it's course.

Breakup Warning Sign #1: Your partner starts distancing her/himself either physically or emotionally.

The first red flag is any kind of distancing behavior; it can be either physical or emotional.

--- Physical distancing usually happens when your partner seems to be making less and less time for you. All of a sudden s/he may seem to be avoiding the typical couple activities you're used to doing together.

--- Emotional distancing is a more subtle, but much stronger indicator that things are heading south of the boarder in your relationship. Have you noticed any changes in the way that s/he communicates with you; such as a lack of eye contact or a different tone of voice? Are most of your conversations boring and trivial? Does s/he avoid discussing future plans the two of you have? Those are all good signs that your partner's emotional investment in the relationship is starting to rapidly deteriorate.

Breakup Warning Sign #2: Your partner makes big changes to her/his daily routine.

One of the most obvious signs of a troubled relationship is when your partner has rearranged her/his entire schedule in order to spend less time with you (and it's very obvious when this is happening). Now sometimes a promotion at work might be to blame, but if you find that s/he's constantly "stuck" at the office until the wee hours of the morning...welp, you might have something else going on there.

Breakup Warning Sign #3: You notice a change in the frequency of your arguments.

Constant fighting hardly has any perks or benefits...so don't be quick to rejoice when your daily arguments seem to disappear completely. A sudden reduction or disappearance in the amount of fights and arguments in your relationship could mean that your partner has started to minimize his emotional investment. 

Withdrawing quickly from confrontations is common behavior of those who are either incredibly frustrated with their partners or have stopped caring completely.

...but my question is why you would put yourself in a position where you and your partner are constantly bickering. Seriously, there are only SO many things to argue over in life...sheesh!

Since most people dislike the guilt that comes along with being “the bad guy,” one very common behavior is the act of purposely starting petty fights and pushing your partner’s buttons in the hopes that they will flip out and say or do something that would make them look like the bad guy. Once this happens, the instigator will have an excuse to justify their desire to leave the relationship.

Your ears should perk up if you find your partner suddenly picking petty fights and blowing up on you for no reason – even more so when her/his arguments are fueled by blind rage and make no logical sense whatsoever.

Breakup Warning Sign #4: The level of physical intimacy has dropped to an all-time low.

When your partner takes physical distancing to the next level, you'll realize that the loving physical contact (cuddling, massages, etc) has almost disappeared completely. I firmly believe that the level or intimacy in your relationship says a lot about the strength of your romantic connection...but hey, that may be just me.

Loving physical contact is one of the most powerful ways of connecting with someone and when it starts to disappear from a relationship, it's kind of like a crack in a ceiling that allows the rain to start coming through.

Before you begin to throw stones at me, I'd like to state that it's quite normal for your "affection" routine to vary over time due to numerous factors, but if you find out that your wo/man has stopped making advanced altogether...this is usually a sign that there is something wrong in the relationship. It's even worse when s/he completely resists all of your advances.

Shying away from contact is a tactic frequently used by women to maintain a level of power in the relationship. However, when men do this...it's usually because they're losing interest or have someone else on the side.

So now that you’re aware of these tell-tale breakup indicators, be on the lookout for them, not only in your own relationships, but also in the relationships of your friends and co-workers. Being able spot these warning signs in the relationships of others will make it much easier to notice them when they show up on your own doorstep.

xoxo,

Miss Nwoka