Have you been in a band-aid relationship?
We’ve all encountered band-aid relationships at least once in our lifetime. They’re those kinds of couples who stay together and claim that they’re in love even though they don’t necessarily act like they’re in a relationship with each other. They’re the ones who you know just aren’t meant for one another, but still, they claim to be together even when all the signs point toward their incompatibility. These are the band-aid relationships and it’s possible that you might be in one as well. But if you’re not entirely sure, then here are some signs to really help you know for sure.
1. You act more like a single person than someone who is in a relationship.
There’s no denying that a person always makes a significant life change when transitioning from a single life into a relationship. But if you’re essentially still acting the same way and going about your everyday life as if you were still single, then chances are you’re just stuck in a band-aid relationship. You are only in a relationship by name and not by actions or feelings.
When you get into a relationship with someone, you will want to share your lives with one another. And of course as you get deeper into the relationship, you would also want to integrate your partner into your social circles and vice versa. But if you are still living your separate lives as far as your friends and family are concerned, then you’re probably just a band-aid couple.
3. You haven’t established a routine as a couple.
Every couple has some kind of healthy system that they can fall back on to make sure that their love and passion for one another lasts. There are just too many things in the world that are scary, dangerous, and uncertain. But when a relationship has some kind of routine or system to rely on, then at least that can breed consistency in love. But if you don’t really have a routine for dating one another or spending time with each other, then you might not really be in a genuinely healthy relationship.
4. You’re not even sure why you like your partner.
You have to know why you like someone. How can you be in a relationship with a person without knowing the reason why? A lot of people will want to be with their partners because they manage to complement one another well or they complete each other. But if you’re in a relationship without a real reason, then are you really in a relationship?
5. You feel like you can’t seem to find happiness anywhere in life.
To preface things, you have to remember that you can’t rely on relationships to be your sole source of happiness in your life. You can’t depend on relationships to give you a sense of completion. But that doesn’t mean that your relationship shouldn’t be helping. Your relationship should still be adding value to your life, and if it doesn’t, then it’s probably a band-aid romance.
6. You are more motivated by not being single than with being in the relationship.
You don’t really care about being in a relationship as much as you care about not being single. You would rather be in a boring and bland relationship than live life as a single person. That’s the wrong mindset and motivation to have when getting into a relationship. You always have to be motivated by the right things in a relationship and that means it can’t be just because you’re afraid of being single again.
7. You don’t really discuss your feelings with one another.
Communication and openness is important in any real relationship. It’s significantly unhealthy for couples to be secretive. You can’t afford to be keeping your feelings from one another especially when your feelings are directly tied into the state of your relationship. If you don’t feel free to open up to one another, then you’re not in a real relationship.
8. You don’t feel compelled to put in the effort for each other.
Relationships are built on love and effort. It’s not enough that you love one another; you have to be able to manifest that love into concrete action and dedication. You have to be able to commit to really making the relationship work by putting in the necessary effort. If you fail to do that constantly, then you are likely not in a real loving relationship.
9. You don’t discuss the future of your relationship at all.
One key factor in determining if you’re in a band-aid relationship is whether the both of you talk about the future. If you do, then it shows that you are really invested in the relationship and you really want to make things work as you move forward. But if you don’t, then it just goes to show that you don’t really care about the relationship and where it may lead.
Talk to me
Have you been in a band-aid relationship? Talk to me in the comments below!
