How to Read People

There's this persistent belief that one can't feel lonely -- or emotionally alone -- while in a relationship. This couldn't be further from the truth. If you've been in this unfortunate situation, you can probably vouch that being lonely while partnered is even worse than being single. Imagine feeling like your partner is more of a roommate than a lover.  Picture a significant other who seems to express interest in everything and everyone -- friends, hobbies, work -- but you.  He talks to you while using his phone or watching TV, hardly ever making eye contact. It feels cold, demoralizing. Communication between you both is essentially in the cellar. And things are not guaranteed to be much better on special occasions like Valentine's Day. Sure, you might share moments of joy and affection here and there, but you know deep down that they're fleeting.  Flowers don’t fix emotional neglect. Chocolates don't magically repair trust issues. The next day, all the dr...

Relationships don't die a natural death. Their demise is brought on by selfishness, lies, neglect, and a lack of compassion and consideration toward one's partner.  In some relationships, only one partner is responsible for causing a rift, and in others, both partners are to blame. Unfortunately, some people expect their partner to do all the heavy lifting, leaving the other physically, mentally, and emotionally drained and effectively running the relationship into the ground.  If people don't want to do their fair share, why enter into a relationship at all? A relationship is a partnership between two individuals. Both of them invest in, maintain, and enhance the relationship so that each feels they're not just reaping benefits, but dispensing them to the other as well. In most cases, both partners put in comparable effort in the early stages of dating as they're getting to know one another.  It's when complacency begins to set in ...