Signs Trust Issues Are Ruining The Relationship

The thing with trust issues is that you often don't even realize you're there. You act out of insecurity and fear, and sabotage your own relationship without understanding why. But there are ways to maintain awareness and understand trust issues so that if they're there, you can work through them and live out a healthy relationship.

What Are Trust Issues?

Man looking down at his phone in blue lighting
Photo Credit: Adrian Swancar / Unsplash
Photo Credit: Adrian Swancar / Unsplash

Trust issues are when, without being given a reason to, you replace certainty in your relationship with insecurity to the point where it affects your reasoning.

Trust issues aren't just about suspecting your partner of infidelity. It also means you hold back on speaking freely, opening up, and getting support from your partner.

ADVERTISEMENT

Why They Can Be Toxic In Relationships

ADVERTISEMENT
woman with a bag over her had with sad face
Photo Credit: Arash Payam / Unsplash
Photo Credit: Arash Payam / Unsplash
ADVERTISEMENT

Studies on distrust have found that trust issues in a relationship eventually lead to adverse behavioral patterns like jealousy and suspicion.

ADVERTISEMENT

This in turn gives rise to negative actions where your partner ends up feeling defensive and you're constantly critical and accusatory.

ADVERTISEMENT

Why You Have Trust Issues

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
woman covering her face with her hands
Photo Credit: Dev Asangbam / unsplash
Photo Credit: Dev Asangbam / unsplash
ADVERTISEMENT

The reasons can vary from your own lack of self-confidence to your brain's coping mechanism from having been betrayed before.

ADVERTISEMENT

Here's a Redditor's example: "In the beginning of my relationship I was young and had ZERO self-esteem, so my mind was wired to believe that I would be left for someone else. As time went on I became more secure in the relationship and within myself, and now I can honestly say I trust my partner 100%." —TheSmallAdventurer

ADVERTISEMENT

You're Tempted To Snoop

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
man with detective lens on his eye
Photo Credit: Ali Hajian / Unsplash
Photo Credit: Ali Hajian / Unsplash
ADVERTISEMENT

Dating someone doesn't entitle you to invading their privacy. If you have a tendency to look at their phone without their knowledge, always look over their shoulder when they're texting, or even stalk their social media, then you're dealing with a bigger issue.

ADVERTISEMENT

It's like you're trying to catch them doing something hurtful to sabotage yourself.

ADVERTISEMENT

You're Constantly Imagining Worst-Case Scenarios

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
woman looking up in thought holding her chin
Photo Credit: Tachina Lee / Unsplash
Photo Credit: Tachina Lee / Unsplash
ADVERTISEMENT

You're preparing for the worst, and it's fine to protect yourself, but it's also preventing you from being able to enjoy the present moment. You'll subconsciously check yourself out and you'll ruin something before it's even started.

ADVERTISEMENT

Give the relationship the benefit of the doubt and if you're wrong, you'll deal with it later.

ADVERTISEMENT

You Keep Trying To "Test" Them

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
woman holds textbook over her head
Photo Credit: Siora Photohraphy / Unsplash
Photo Credit: Siora Photohraphy / Unsplash
ADVERTISEMENT

You keep testing your partner's fortitude and loyalty to the relationship. This may be okay in the very early stages when you decide if you should enter the relationship at all.

ADVERTISEMENT

After that, they will not be able to pass your tests, and they'll reach a limit. They'll end up failing simply because you keep trying to trick them.

ADVERTISEMENT

You Feel A Need To Bring Up Their Past Relationships

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
couple looking at each other while walking
Photo Credit: Katerina Holmes / Pexels
Photo Credit: Katerina Holmes / Pexels
ADVERTISEMENT

It's like you worry that they'll leave you like they eventually left their other partners, so you think if you understand every detail, you'll be able to prevent the same outcome. Or, even worse, you're concerned they still harbor some feelings for them or liked them better.

ADVERTISEMENT

Instead, you should be focusing on creating your own new memories and unique relationship.

ADVERTISEMENT

You've Been Told You're Too Controlling

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
hands letting go of each other closeup
Photo Credit: Fotografierende / Unsplash
Photo Credit: Fotografierende / Unsplash
ADVERTISEMENT

There's a difference between having a type A personality and proactively or unknowingly setting unhealthy boundaries for your partner.

ADVERTISEMENT

You shouldn't have a say in how they dress or who they get to hang out with. If they're out, they shouldn't need to update you every hour. You're both free independent individuals despite dating each other.

ADVERTISEMENT

You're Tempted To Cheat

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
man plays with woman's hair while she stands with another man
Photo Credit: Keira burton / pexels
Photo Credit: Keira burton / pexels
ADVERTISEMENT

If you've cheated before or have been tempted to, you won't be able to help but wonder if your partner is capable of doing the same. More importantly, you need to ask yourself why you're tempted to look elsewhere.

ADVERTISEMENT

Often, it leads back to your own feelings of insecurity and need for validation from others.

ADVERTISEMENT

You Constantly Put Your Partner On Trial

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
man and woman sit on couch far apart
Photo Credit: Cottonbro / Pexels
Photo Credit: Cottonbro / Pexels
ADVERTISEMENT

You can't help but bombard your partner with questions the second they walk through the door 10 minutes late.

ADVERTISEMENT

You can't shake the need to know why, where they were, and with who, in order to dismiss your fears.

ADVERTISEMENT

You Can't Forgive Even Small Mistakes

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
woman pointing at man at table
Photo Credit: Alex Green / Pexels
Photo Credit: Alex Green / Pexels
ADVERTISEMENT

You just can't seem to let go of even the small things because, in your mind, it's foreshadowing the inevitable. You think the small mistakes will lead to bigger mistakes.

ADVERTISEMENT

You take them personally, make a big deal out of it, and it ends up starting a lot of fights.

ADVERTISEMENT

You Have Your Own Commitment Issues

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
woman rests her head on table
Photo Credit: Anh Nguyen / Unsplash
Photo Credit: Anh Nguyen / Unsplash
ADVERTISEMENT

No matter how much you care for someone, you refuse to commit yourself to them because you're afraid of how vulnerable that makes you.

ADVERTISEMENT

You're terrified of trusting someone else with your heart when you can barely do it for yourself.

ADVERTISEMENT

You Feel Lonely

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
woman looking through window from the open blinds
Photo Credit: Joshua Rawon Harris / Unsplash
Photo Credit: Joshua Rawon Harris / Unsplash
ADVERTISEMENT

You tend to keep people at arm's length so that they don't hurt you or see your weaknesses. However, this has isolated you or even made you feel depressed.

ADVERTISEMENT

You have to ask yourself which risk is better, taking a chance on someone and being proven right and being happy, or being proven wrong, learning from it, and trying again anyway?

ADVERTISEMENT

You Feel Confused About The Relationship

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
woman holding her shoulder while walking outside
Photo Credit: Ghaith harstancy / Unsplash
Photo Credit: Ghaith harstancy / Unsplash
ADVERTISEMENT

This can come through in various ways. You may be having second thoughts about your relationship right now, or you're stressed out because of ambiguity in the relationship.

ADVERTISEMENT

Either way, if you don't both fully have both feet in, then it's likely that you don't trust each other.

ADVERTISEMENT

You're Overly Protective

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
man and woman hug in a field
Photo Credit: Igor Erico / Unsplash
Photo Credit: Igor Erico / Unsplash
ADVERTISEMENT

This one is still a little different than being controlling. You genuinely want to protect those you love because you worry on their behalf that someone will hurt them. It's such a big fear within you that it projects onto everyone you love too.

ADVERTISEMENT

You can't bear the thought of being betrayed.

ADVERTISEMENT

You Have A Need To "Fact Check"

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
woman typing on laptop by window door
Photo Credit: Thought Catalog / Unsplash
Photo Credit: Thought Catalog / Unsplash
ADVERTISEMENT

You can't just take what your partner tells you at face value.

ADVERTISEMENT

You have a tendency to fact-check even if they've never given you a reason to think they're lying. It's your own trust issues that trick you into thinking that it's not the truth unless you confirm it.

ADVERTISEMENT

You Have A Fight-Or-Flight Urge

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
woman hiding her face in darkness
Photo Credit: Melanie Wasser / unsplash
Photo Credit: Melanie Wasser / unsplash
ADVERTISEMENT

Trust issues feel physically urgent, as the fear they cause can be so intense that it gets the mind into a fight-or-flight response. The issue with that is that you then act with urgency rather than clarity, and the trust issues take too much control.

ADVERTISEMENT

In the flight situation, it may make you feel like you need to get out of a relationship in order to protect yourself.

ADVERTISEMENT

OK, So You Can Admit It, Now What?

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
woman looking up in thought
Photo Credit: Jonathan Andrew / Pexels
Photo Credit: Jonathan Andrew / Pexels
ADVERTISEMENT

It's not an incurable disease. Others have found ways to deal with it, and you can too. First, you need to get to the root of what incited your trust issues.

ADVERTISEMENT

Then, it's about how you can change your beliefs and mentality. You can even build trust on a person-by-person basis.

ADVERTISEMENT

Learn To Take A Step Back

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
person walking in hollywood
Photo Credit: Tyler Nix / Unsplash
Photo Credit: Tyler Nix / Unsplash
ADVERTISEMENT

Take it from someone who went through it: "Don’t hold back and always tell your SO about what’s going on, try and ease into different situations and don’t lash out at your SO because you're scared it makes things worse. Just put your mind somewhere else and distract yourself.

ADVERTISEMENT

"Over time it goes away to the point that you look back and find yourself laughing at yourself for being so silly. Good luck!" —Reluctantaccountforu / Reddit

ADVERTISEMENT

The Ultimate Trick

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
woman sitting on stool against the wall
Photo Credit: Joshua Rawson Harris / Unsplash
Photo Credit: Joshua Rawson Harris / Unsplash
ADVERTISEMENT

The best trick we can provide you with is to let yourself experience the worst, as many times as it takes. Surrender yourself to the fear and just go with it rather than letting it take control over you.

ADVERTISEMENT

That means accepting that you can't control other people's actions, so give them the benefit of the doubt. If you turn out to be right, you'll get over it. Then you can try again. Don't let someone else's mistakes ruin your entire perspective. Try and trust again.