5 Reasons Women Stay In Bad Relationships.

I know both men and women are guilty of staying in bad relationships but this week I’m solely focusing on the ladies.  I’ve stayed in an unhealthy relationship resulting in a lack of respect, no mutual understanding, loneliness and low self-esteem. The bottom line is I wasn't happy anymore no matter how much I tried convincing myself and others that I was. It gets to a point when the relationship becomes draining emotionally and mentally and that can’t be good for either of you.

Here are 5 reasons women stay in bad relationships.

FEAR No one likes the fear of the unknown but some people struggle with it more than others. Once you’ve become dependent on each other it’s hard to leave that behind. Some women become reliant on their partners/ husbands financially and don’t want to part with the security even if the relationship is bad.

There are some women out there who’ve NEVER been single. When you’re used to constant attention/affection it can be difficult to be alone. Some women fear they won’t find another man and jump from relationship to relationship even if there not conducive.

LOVE is blind as Eve once sang. Sometimes when we’re in love we become so deluded with what’s going around us that we ignore what makes us happy and stay in unhealthy relationships. How many times have you overlooked the bad because of your love for someone? How many women get cheated on constantly but because they love their partner they stay although there’s no trust?

FAILURE I touched on this last week. No one likes that conversation, so how are things with so and so? We’re not together anymore…. *cue awkward silence*. We should never look at the ending of a relationship as a failure but a lot of people do. It can be particularly hard when families are involved, especially parents who put a lot of pressure on your relationship.

COMFORT many of us have stayed in a relationship due to comfort. The relationship may not have been the best (and don’t we all deserve the best, not perfect because perfect doesn't exist but the best you can have) but we settle because it’s comfortable and better than being alone. We tell ourselves that he’s not that bad and that it could be worse but the fact is you’re not happy. That’s a sign within itself.

NOT KNOWING WHATS OUT THERE. Some women have been with there partners since school and don’t know any different. I recall my first partner did nothing with me. I was a mere teenager at the time and didn’t know any better and thought this is as good as it gets. I thought the fact that he hardly called me was normal. That we never went to the cinema was okay, that we only discussed trivial things was cool. None of these things made me happy but I stayed longer than necessary. It’s not until I dated someone else that I realised what I’d been missing out on.