How to Handle Jealousy
When you’re single, you can befriend anyone you want. Man or woman, it doesn’t seem to matter who you want to spend your Friday night with. But things change once you enter into a relationship.
All of a sudden your significant other gets insecure and doesn’t like to share you. Some would call this person clingy, but you know them better to realize they’re just scared of losing you. Clingy could be considered a compliment, meaning that person always wants to be with you, but it’s mostly just annoying when it interferes with the rest of your social life.
Trust issues aren’t cute, yet some people beg to differ. Why stay with someone with trust issues? Well most of the time you wouldn’t, but its all situational. People can change over time, no matter how stubborn they may be. If you really like someone, you will find a way to solve this jealousy issue before giving up on them completely.
Here are a few ways to solve trust issues:
Open communication
Talking things out can really solve almost any problem. A lot of times you don’t want to tell your significant other that they are acting crazy, but doing so can actually help in the long run. You want to be honest with your feelings, and tell them if you feel overwhelmed in your relationship. By telling them you need space, they may actually back off and try to adjust to your requests.
Necessary negotiation
While consistent jealously can be a turn off, you’ll try negotiate if you see the relationship is worth it. Try to make a compromise with your significant other. If they love spending every waking moment with you, compromise to weekly date nights. This way you have designated nights all to yourselves, but other days to catch up with friends or have some me time.
Honesty hour
Being honest with your partner can put him or her at ease and lead to less drama. Rather than be sketchy,just tell them what you’re doing and who you’re with. Maybe they always want to hangout with you to ensure you don’t have a wandering eye. Be open and tell them that your friends are just friends for a reason. This is easier said than done, but after a while they’ll start to trust you if you remain honest.
Down the road
The longer you date someone, the more likely they are to trust you. If you keep communication open and honest, there should be no reason for trust issues. But, some people never change. If that’s the case, you may be dating a crazy person. Just let them go before they become obsessed and attempt to control your life. This is in extreme situation, and hopefully most people don’t have to go through that. In most cases, both time and negotiation will help your partner learn how to give you your space. If your partner didn’t feel comfortable about giving you your own space at first, they soon will see it’s importance after dating a while. So just give it some time before you completely dump your significant other and deem them a stage five clinger.
Born and raised in Northern Virginia, Christina aspires to be a public relations professional in a big city after graduation from James Madison University. In her free time when she’s not blogging away about dating and relationships, Christina loves to go shopping, watch Netflix and play with every puppy that crosses her path.