This is ESSENTIAL for you to pay attention to - like you bathe, brush your teeth, drink water, and eat every day; you better look at your relationship with the same lens.

1. Absence of communication. This is not just simply saying "don't be defensive and don't criticise". This is about disconnecting, the inability to empathise, pulling apart, and keeping conversations on surface level.

2. Emotional disconnection. Scientific research shows that 80% of couples who are emotionally disconnected end in divorce.

3. Frequent arguments. This can go from disagreements to being unappreciated - but either way you are disconnected from what is truly meaningful at your core values.

4. Lack of intimacy. This is not just about having sex but it's about being emotionally vulnerable and willing to expose oneself to be held by the other (and vice versa).

5. Loss of trust. This can be built up but you are definitely going to need to start from ground zero, with the ingredients of safety, honesty, and transparency to create trust again.

6. Different life goals. You are not going to be the same as your partner (and you shouldn't be) but you need to be able to grow together. This is foundational for your relationship to flourish.

7. Indifference. This is simply when you've stopped investing as much as you would have previously, or as much as you would like to invest in a relationship.

8. Avoidance. Time together feels like a chore and you even invite others around as a reason to 'be together'.

9. Constant criticism. This can have a huge negative impact on your self-esteem and self-worth.

10. Inability to move forward together. Being stuck and stagnating - if you're stuck you're actually deteriorating (not staying the same).

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LinkedIn Dr Sarah Alsawy-Davies
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