One of the biggest things that I can say about love and relationships is that being in a good relationship shouldn't feel bad. I think that we are inclined to throw ourselves into relationships that devalue us in the name of security because some of us feel far happier being part of a couple than we do being single. Some of us have no idea what love is and attribute the feeling to drama, baggage, unavailability, jumping through hoops.
Think back to your past relationships and separate yourself from him and think about how you felt around him and away from him. Own it and ask yourself how you felt rather than focusing solely on how you think he made you feel.
When I think back to past relationships, it could be the distance which gives you objectivity and 20:20 vision but I recognise that I was anything but in love and I felt uneasy, unhappy, insecure, uncertain and many negative feelings. Yeah I had my moments, periods of feeling happy but it was fleeting when I think about it in the cold light of day and it stemmed from dependency that gets generated when we place more value on being in a relationship, even a semblance of one, and not enough on the QUALITY of the relationship.
True, healthy, respectful relationships aren't made up of so much negativity. They don't make you feel like sh*t about yourself. You shouldn't be perpetually insecure. You should feel happy and comfortable in the relationship. You should feel good.
We are inclined to feel good about about bad situations. We feel good and loved despite very clear unavailability and very apparent lack of good care from the men that we engage in relationships with and we have to stop accepting the crumbs that get thrown at us by these men.
Pay attention to how you feel around a guy - it will tell you a lot about your relationship. Obviously if you're of the paranoid persuasion it will be more difficult to guage, but as a general rule of thumb, falling in healthy love and engaging in a healthy, happy, loving relationship means that at some point you can't help but let go of whatever past negativity's that you may be holding onto as you'll embrace it. And of course, be happy regardless of the presence of a man in your life because you will feel the difference if you're not in the right relationship. It will feel better to be on your own... My new eBook Mr Unavailable and the Fallback Girl is now available to buy as an instant download. Find out more.