Relationship
Killers
CONTROLLING
BEHAVIOR
Most people enter a
relationship with a deep fear of rejection, and this fear
motivates various forms of controlling behavior. Controlling
behavior falls into two major categories – overt control and
covert control.
Overt control includes many
forms of attack, such as blaming anger, rage, violence,
judgment, criticism and ridicule.
Covert control includes
compliance, enabling, withdrawal, defending, explaining, lying
and denying. Often a person at the other end of attack will
respond with some form of covert control in an attempt to have
control over not being attacked.
Controlling behavior always
results in resentment and emotional distance, bringing about
the very rejection that it is meant to avoid.
RESISTANCE
Many people enter a
relationship with a deep fear of being engulfed and controlled
– of losing themselves. The moment they experience their
partner wanting control over them, they respond with resistance
– withdrawal, unconsciousness, numbness, forgetfulness, and
procrastination.
When one partner is
controlling and the other is resistant – which is really an
attempt to have control over not being controlled - the
relationship becomes immobilized. Partners in this relationship
system feel frustrated, stagnant, and resentful.
NEEDINESS
Many people enter a
relationship believing that it is their partner’s job to fill
their emptiness, take away their aloneness, and make them feel
good about themselves. When people have not learned how to take
responsibility for their own feelings and needs, and to define
their own self-worth, they may pull on their partner and others
to fill them with the love they need.
SUBSTANCE AND PROCESS
ADDICTIONS
Most people who feel empty
inside turn to substance and process addictions in an attempt
to fill their emptiness and take away the pain of their
aloneness and loneliness. Alcohol and drug abuse, food,
spending, gambling, busyness, Internet sex and pornography,
affairs, work, TV, accumulating things, beautifying, and so on,
can all be used as ways to fill emptiness and avoid fears of
failure, inadequacy, rejection and engulfment. And they are all
ways of shutting out your partner.
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EYES ON PARTNER'S
PLATE
Many people are acutely aware
of what their partner is doing that is causing relationship
problems, but completely unaware of what they are doing. For
example, you might be very aware of your partner’s resistance
or withdrawal, but totally unaware of your own judgmental
behavior. You might be very aware of your partner’s anger, but
completely unaware of your own compliance. You might be very
aware of your partner’s addictive behavior, but very unaware of
your own enabling. As long as your eyes are on your partner
instead of on yourself, you will continue to believe that if
only your partner changed, everything would be okay.
RESOLVING RELATIONSHIP
KILLERS
All relationship killers come
from fear – of inadequacy, of failure, of rejection and of
engulfment. As long as you are coming from any of these fears,
you will be behaving in one or more of the above
ways.
The way out is to develop a
loving adult self who knows how to take full responsibility for
your own feelings and needs. You will move beyond controlling,
needy and addictive behavior only when you learn how to fill
your self with love and define your own inner worth. When you
are willing to take your eyes off your partner’s plate and turn
your eyes fully on yourself, you can begin to do the inner
healing work necessary to heal yourself and your
relationship.
A good place to start is to download our free
Inner Bonding course and begin to practice the Six Steps of
Inner Bonding. The daily practice of these steps will move you
out of your addictive and controlling behavior and into the
personal responsibility necessary to heal your
relationship.
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