![]() |
infoaboutrelationships.com
|
|
|
Are you (or are you with) a Commitment-Phobe?
We hear it all the time. "He just won't make a commitment." "She just wants some space right now." "I'm not sure if I'm ready for a serious relationship." What does having a fear of commitment really mean? Actually, it means basically what it says. For SOME reason you, or someone you are involved with, isn't ready to take this relationship (or any relationship) to the next step. So how do we know if we or our (hoped for) partner are truly afraid of commitment? How do we know that it's not something else? Is there any real difference between these two anyway? Do these excuses sound familiar? "I'm just under a lot of stress right now." "It's not you, it's me." "I can't focus on a relationship right now because of my overloaded schedule." Very often, we want to accept these reasons because we fear the real truth. Other times, we are just very confused by our feelings and the often mixed messages from the other person. So, how do we evaluate our ability to make a long-term commitment? How do we know if he/she is really ready or willing? There are only two real issues here to examine. The first issue involves looking at a true fear of commitment itself. If this is the problem it's important for the person with this fear to ask themselves a few key questions. Are you concerned about the idea of forever? If you answered yes to any of these, it would be a good idea to begin working to understand where these feelings come from. Once you understand them better, you can choose to address them. Perhaps you need more time or emotional growth before you consider makinga long-term commitment. There can be several factors that influence your fear. Explore these and arm yourself with a plan to put them to rest. If you would like to deal with past relationship feelings, understand if you are relationship ready or evaluate your self-awareness, go to http://www.consum-mate.com/articles.htm for articles that can assist you with these issues. Greater self-knowledge will help you to overcome this block to building a lasting and satisfying relationship. The second issue is the inability to make a commitment to a PARTICULAR relationship. This may not be the right one. Perhaps there is a sense of this but it is written off to being a "commitment -phobe" in general. Focus on the true level of involvement with each other. Is there a genuine connection? Or is there a vague feeling of something missing? Evaluate the quality of your intimate relating. This does not mean how often (or even how good) the sex is. This is about how open, sharing and real you are in your interactions with each other. Does any of this sound familiar? It seems like we are only killing time? He/she doesn't seem to want what I want. We seem to be off and on in our level of contact/affection. I/they are still not over a past relationship. I/they just don't seem to know what I/they want. Remember to focus on the involvement or lack thereof between you. If either person is disengaged in any way, it's time to address the real issue of; "Is this the right relationship for us?" Exploring your ability to make a lasting commitment should be a first step in your plan for building a healthy and lasting relationship. Toni Coleman, MSW is a licensed psychotherapist and relationship coach with over 20 years of experience. As a recognized expert, Toni has been quoted in many local and national publications including: The Chicago Tribune and The Orlando Sentinel newspapers and Family Circle, Woman's Day, and Star magazines. She has been featured on ABC News; Discovery Health Channel and AOL Online. As a weekly contributing commentator on the KTRS Radio Morning Show, (St. Louis, MO), Toni offers dating tips and relationship advice in response to listener feedback. Toni founded Consum-mate.com in 2002 to offer singles the knowledge and tools they need to find and sustain healthy, lasting love relationships. She is a member of The International Coach Federation, and The International Association Of Coaches.
MORE RESOURCES:
Men With Facial Scars Are More Attractive To Women Seeking Short ... - Science Daily (press release)
Relationships - Google News |
RELATED ARTICLES
Setting Up Boundaries in Relationships Setting up personal boundaries is important in all types of relationships, but in intimate ones, it is all the more important. As with the closer the relationship will become it is easier for those lines to blur. What is Romance and How Can You be More Romantic? Whether you've been in a relationship for a long time, or whether you're single, learning how to romance and love can be one of the greatest skills to learn (and believe me being romantic takes a lot of skill, for both men and women!). But what exactly is romance? I mean if you don't know what romance is, then how can you ever be romantic?Being romantic is more than just a bunch of red roses and a box of chocolates, it is showing your partner that you love, respect and admire them for who they are and it is form of showing them how much they mean to you. The Path of Relationship Each month after completing and fine tuning Letters on Life I'm excited about sending it out. Within a few hours I start to wonder about the next letter and whether people will like it. A Gift From the Heart of a Friend She stares at me and then closes her eyes. A tinge of early dawn plays on her cheek as it peeks through the glass curtains by my desk. Passion Drought: Turning the Fizzle Back Into Sizzle In Your Relationship; Part 1 IntroductionMany gay men in both short and long-term relationships report concern when the romance and passion in their partnerships decline or "dry up", leading them to question themselves and fear for the future of their relationships. An unfortunate consequence of this is that many men break up with their partners prematurely at this point, have affairs, or turn to some form of addiction to cope under the mistaken notion that something is defective or wrong in their relationships. Dangerous Relationship? I will in this article cover some of my own experiences living with a person with a dysfunctional personal disorder of type borderline. I call these person BP (BorderlinePersonality) to make things easier. 10 Fast Ways to Re-ignite the Flames of Love Enhance Romance today.When Men and Women enter into a relationship, what they are really looking for is a best friend, some one they know will love us no matter what. True Love - Part 1 True Love! We all dream of being in love with that significant other, at some point in our lives. Is it better to have loved once than not to have loved at all? If this is really the case, then how do we actually find true love? How can a man or a woman really get to the core of the whole relationship game? What are the rules of such a game?More often than not, it is not uncommon to find that either one partner feels really strongly about the other, whilst the other just bides time because he or she is the only one "available" at the time. The 4 Deadly Mistakes of Wife Seduction When a guy gets turned down over and over again (during the seduction process) in his relationship with his wife (or girlfriend) he often attempts to make adjustments. You are about to learn the 4 deadly mistakes guys make when attempting to correct the problem with their "not in the mood" female partner. Self Truth and Your Relationships Questions and AnswersHow can I learn how to be true to myself?If I can't control other people, how can I change the dynamics of our relationship? How can I recognize when to speak up and when to let it go? How can I know when I'm being true to myself or fooling myself? If I'm asking for something from my partner to improve our relationship and he or she doesn't change anything, what should I do?The AnswersHow can I learn how to be true to myself?There is only one way to know how to be true to yourself and that is getting consciously aware of your real feelings. Ask yourself how you really feel about the situation, the comment, the non-verbal communication, the action - no matter what it is, ask yourself how you feel about it. The Healing Power of Forgiveness People who experience bad health often have major league forgiveness issues in their lives. When we hold negativity in our energy field, inevitably it expresses itself as physical disharmony or bad health. How To Make Hooking Up With Your Ex More Thrilling Than It Ever Was Before! Now I really have seen everything.The other day, I saw a television show with a very curious premise: They found a good-old Southern boy who was such a charmer, 6 of his ex-girlfriends (some, who had been flat-out "dumped" by him) were willing to line themselves up in front of a camera for 120 minutes, and go through various and sundry interviews, to see whether or not they could pass muster with him, the second time around. Intent Over the past few months, things in my life have been better than ever. New home, new friends, and wonderful career. Great Relationship Advice: The Ability to Communicate In my workshops with couples, I start with this question:"How many of you believe men and women are created differently?"Usually most everyone agrees, and I congratulate them on passing Anatomy 101. The next question is slightlydifferent:"How many of you believe that men and women think, feel, perceive and experience the world in sometimes dramatically different ways?"Usually most of the women agree and the men just look confused. Passions Search for Destiny She was haunted by a man whom she had never met. He came to her in her dreams. Men and Relationships Ever since the women's movement began, women have empowered themselves through self-help books, classes, therapy, and TV shows such as Oprah, the Lifetime Network and much more. Women have been stepping up to the plate, taking responsibility for their lives, their jobs and their relationships. How Can I Get My Partner To Change? How much energy do you spend trying to get what you want from your partner? Think about it for a moment - how much of your thinking time is spent on what to say to your partner to get him or her to be the way you want him or her to be?Many of us spend a lot of time thinking about how to get what we want from our partner - how to get our partner to open up, be more caring, see us, love us, pay attention to us, spend time with us, have sex with us, and so on. We spend at lot of energy trying to get what we want from our partner because we believe that if only we do it right - behave right or say the right thing - we can have control over getting our partner to change. Finding a Life Partner Dear Candace,I'm 35 years old and ready to open my heart to a true partner. I have honored myself in the past by leaving relationships that weren't right, yet I wonder if my idea of how I think it is supposed to be is preventing me from creating what I truly want. Communicate What You Feel: How to be Understood By Those You Love Good communication is of fundamental importance in intimaterelationships. The ability to accurately differentiate betweenthe internal experiences of feeling, thought and sensation isbasic to this process. Relationship Advice - How to Get Out and Stay Out of Relationships Ruts "The only difference between a rut and a grave are the dimensions."Q: My wife and I are both on our second marriage. |
|
Home | Site Map| Link Partners Powered By: Free Google Adsense Websites! |
| © 2006 |