Taking a Break in a Relationship: Why and How to Make It Right

11.02.2020

Relationships can’t be easy, understandable, and simple. Life circumstances are changing, people are changing over time, and along with this, relationships between people are changing as well. In the life of probably each couple, there are situations when coexistence seems completely meaningless. People suddenly realize that they are missing something important. There are doubts. But long-term relationships are also the result of serious work, and many people don’t want to put effort, but they decide that taking a break in a relationship is the best idea.

What Does It Mean to Take a Break in a Relationship?

There are times when you can’t look at your loved one without bouts of irritation. Everything infuriates you, starting with their breathing in a dream to the smell of their perfume. And you seem to still love them, but it is simply impossible to be next to them. In cases when disagreement and doubt interfere with personal happiness, lovers may decide to temporarily take a break. The initiator can be both a man and a woman. This doesn’t mean that the couple will necessarily break up, they just take time to think and test their feelings. Yes, dating and relationships are quite difficult things.

A man and a woman should understand that taking a break from a relationship is needed to rethink. They should do this consciously, and a pause in the relationship should be pre-planned. In addition, they need to determine what specific problem they are trying to solve by resting from each other. Perhaps a conflict has occurred between them, and they need to cool down and rethink words and actions. Therefore, at this moment, both of them need this physical freedom. A pause in the relationship also helps solve some small everyday problems.

So, what does taking a break mean in a relationship? In most cases, people take a break in the relationship to observe partners and see how they will behave during this period. But in this case, they need to understand that they are more focused on partners because they don’t understand what they want from the relationship and how to further develop it. Secondly, a pause is taken in those cases when a person wants to understand how to build a relationship further because the partner has opened from an unexpected side. For example, he or she cheats. And getting over cheating, there is no trust between lovers anymore. A pause in the relationship may be the answer to some kind of resentment from the partner. And of course, it helps make decisions about the shared future.

Can Taking a Break in a Relationship Help?

Loving people want to spend as much time together as possible. The presence of a loved one causes joy and a sense of comfort, but with the loss of emotional closeness, pleasant emotions disappear. There is a feeling that a person is wasting time, and you begin to realize that something important is missing. People also realize that they are feeling alienated, and their former closeness has gone somewhere. Here people want to take a pause. But can taking a break from a relationship help?

You have fears of missing out

In other words, a pause in a relationship may be necessary as a “breath of fresh air.” That is, people are not tired of relationships at all, however, being in them, they can’t do something important, for example, to achieve promotion or learn a foreign language. As a rule, this happens in couples in which people give all their time and energy to loved ones.

Relationships are moving too fast

If people have just started dating, and one of them moves too fast, requires mutual obligations, then the second one will want to take a timeout. A relationship break will help understand your feelings and compatibility as well as whether you have a future.

You constantly argue about the same things

Quarrels can’t be avoided but, in some couples, they become an integral part of life. If one of the partners has a temperament that is prone to conflict, and another one is calm, then he or she will be soon tired because of the constant desire to quarrel. In such situations, a pause may help rethink the view of many things.

You feel your relationships take all your time and efforts

You always worry about your relationship. Give all your free time to it. There is no energy and strength to further solve problems in relationships, to fight for them, although you don’t like many things. Does taking a break from a relationship help? Yes, it does. Perhaps you just spend too much time together, and you need some personal space.

Taking a Break from a Relationship: Dos and Don’ts

When taking a break from a relationship to find yourself and “cleaning” your thoughts and feelings, it is very important to determine the rules. It is necessary to discuss with the partner the boundaries of what is permitted to avoid unpleasant surprises and misunderstandings. In general, conversations are beneficial to any relationship. But how to take a break without bad consequences?

Communicate from time to time

During even temporary separation, partners should maintain communication (at least occasionally). The fact that you agree to take a timeout doesn’t mean that you need to be fenced off from a partner by a blank wall. When setting taking a break in a relationship rules, discuss communication options during a pause. Lack of communication during this period is rarely a good idea. Your communication should be friendly. Avoid any conflicts.

Don’t push

As soon as the partners have decided on a temporary separation, it is necessary to honestly talk about your feelings. So, how to take a break from relationships? To avoid unnecessary calls and messages that will bother and annoy, you should avoid unnecessary pressure on your partner. Otherwise, your pause will not bring any results. It will serve as another impetus for your final breakup.

Think about whether a break will help in your situation

Most often, relationships don’t get better after a pause. In fact, they can get significantly worse. If you want to get away from the key problem in your relationship, ignoring it, then you are choosing the wrong path. The need for such a break is often caused by a fear of responsibility, but if you can’t agree on some rules and restrictions for the duration of this break, it’s better to just end the relationship.

Don’t go for it a second time

If you have already taken a break and stayed together, don’t be so naive as to consider the possibility of a second and third time. This is an almost free relationship, and they talk a lot about your maturity. Perhaps you should be alone until you meet someone you really want to stay with. And this means the complete end of the relationship, not endless pauses.

Be honest with yourself

If you really want to take a break from the relationship, rather than end it, be honest with yourself. If you think that this is an easy way to get rid of a partner, then you are mistaken. A pause in the relationship only delays the process of separation. If you understand that you just want to become free and meet someone else, just end the relationship.

Don’t forget the rules

How to take a break in a relationship? If you want to take a break, then you need to establish some rules. For example, you both can decide that sex with other people is unacceptable, but dating is allowed. If the reason for the pause was not the desire to date someone else, then you should agree on fidelity for the time of this separation.

Does taking a relationship break lead to a breakup?

Sometimes a short separation occurs on its own. This may be a separate vacation, the need to temporarily leave for relatives. This opportunity to be alone (but staying in a relationship, at the same time) allows you to think about everything and overestimate a lot. In this case, the feelings of the other partner will not be hurt by the phrase, “We need to take a break from each other.” If you are looking for a pretext for a breakup, it is better to say this directly to your partner. No need to amuse them with the illusions of a shared future. If it takes time to think, take a timeout. But don’t forget to discuss the break conditions to the smallest detail.

Is taking a break in a relationship good? Unfortunately, most breaks in a relationship end with a breakup. But there are exceptions. Love, mutual respect, and understanding will help cope with any difficulties and trials that arise in the life of a couple. If people value each other, they don’t need a break to realize this.

Should I take a break from my relationship? Well, a pause in a relationship between a man and a woman can lead to anything – it can be about a successful continuation or a breakup. It is very important to frankly clarify each other’s expectations from such a step, and if there is still hope for a joint future, then try to do everything during this difficult time so that there is nothing to apologize for later.