Key takeaway: the foundation of every relationship is built on trust. Without trust, the relationship will ultimately crumble.
Please note that this post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Do You Trust Your Partner?
Reflect on this question for a moment: what happens when there is no trust in a relationship? I’m sure you can think of at least one relationship in the past in your life where trust was absent.
Did that relationship last?
Chances are, it didn’t.
Now here’s another question to consider: do you trust your partner?
If you find yourself struggling with this question, it may be time to seriously reflect on your relationship and whether your needs are being met.
For most people, a relationship that lacks trust can have a domino effect in their lives. It can cause extreme emotional pain, overwhelming self-doubt, harsh self-criticism, projecting that mistrust towards others, and a blurred view of the world.
When I reflect on previous relationships that lacked trust, none of them lasted. For myself, I am a very trusting person, at first. However, betrayals of that trust from the other person would quickly put that trust in jeopardy, and once that trust was lost, I couldn’t seem to gain it back.
In a trusting and respectful relationship, the experience could not be more different. When in a trusting relationship, you don’t second guess yourself or the other’s intentions. You’re secure in that relationship simply because you trust that the other person is doing the right thing by you, and you are doing the right thing by them. The relationship is based on mutual respect, trust, and appreciation for one another.
Unfortunately though, not every relationship is like this.
If you’re struggling with trust in your relationship (or lack thereof), read on to learn what can happen.
6 Things That Happen in a Relationship Without Trust
- You question their intentions. When there is a clear lack of trust, you quickly begin to doubt the other person and their true intentions. You may try to convince yourself that you’re ‘just being paranoid,’ but once that trust is gone, you’ll question everything about your partner.
- You struggle with self-doubt. On the flipside, you’ll begin to question everything about yourself. A lack of trust in a relationship can spiral where you start to question your worth. You may pick yourself apart and wonder what you could do differently, or even try to change yourself to fix the problem. However, trust is a two-way street, and both sides need to work to address it.
- You become less vulnerable with them. When there isn’t any trust in a relationship, you’ll quickly find that you’re less able to show vulnerability. Vulnerability between two partners is essential in a healthy relationship. It promotes honesty, while fostering closeness. However, when you feel like you can’t confide in your partner, you become less and less vulnerable with them and, consequently, less close with them.
- You distance yourself. As you become less vulnerable with someone, you automatically start to distance yourself. This, more than anything, is a self-defense mechanism to minimize any more potential pain in the relationship.
- You become resentful. Once trust is lost, you may also feel resentment towards that person. A betrayal of trust is a betrayal of you, and when someone hurts you in this way, it’s all too easy to resort to feelings of resentment as a means of coping.
- You project that mistrust towards others. Unfortunately, a lack of trust in one relationship can quickly spill over into other relationships. How? When you feel as though you can’t trust someone you deeply care about, you begin to question others and their trust. You become guarded and wary, and you may apply that same felt experience to other relationships in your life. This is why it’s so critical to not stay in a relationship where someone has given you reasons to not trust them, as it can cause profound damage in other areas of your life.
In conclusion, a relationship that lacks trust is doomed to fail unless both partners are willing to try and rebuild trust between one another. For more tips on how to rebuild that trust, check out this article.
