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Relationship burnout occurs when someone feels resentful or generally negative emotions from a draining relationship. Typically, the negative or resentful feelings develop from feeling a loss of support, connection, or independence in the relationship. In addition, relationship burnout can develop from chronic stress or exhaustion, which can also impact the relationship at hand.
Here are some symptoms someone may be experiencing relationship burnout:
Begins to distance themselves from their loved ones
Feels drained or exhausted constantly
Emotionally dysregulated
Feeling increasingly irritated with others
Has negative feelings about their relationships
Trying to pick fights
Not wanting to/making time to spend with others
Feeling like the relationship(s) create(s) more negative than positive feelings
Ways to help yourself overcome relationship burnout:
Be honest about what you need from them
This may include conversing with them about ways they can help you by meeting your emotional needs. For example, if you are overly stressed from a job, putting time aside each day to talk with each other about your day may help you and your relationship long term.
Show Gratitude
Gratitude focuses on finding joy and excitement in everyday activities as well as positive aspects of your relationships.
Practice Self-Care
If relationship burnout is connected to chronic stress in other aspects of your life or even overextending yourself in your relatinoships, then making time to practice self-care may be beneficial. Self-care may be exercising regularly, yoga, prioritizing eating nutrient-dense food, or limiting stressors.
Seek Therapy
If you want to improve your relationships as well as how you deal with boundaries, seeking individual, couples or family therapy may be beneficial. Treatments, such as those provided at Blissful Balance Counselling, may help strengthen your confidence, relational skills and the relationship at hand through improved communication, and working through problems in this relationship dynamic.
Final Thoughts:
Relationship burnout is a complex topic to navigate as you need to understand if the relationship in question is healthy and worth fighting for. When facing a constant cycle of burnout in the relationship and even therapy and self-care is not helping, then prioritizing yourself may need to be the priority. If you are still finding the relationship to be toxic, or the effort is not amicable, then ending the relationship is also okay.
Reference:
LISW-S, W. by: M. R., & MD, R. by: H. M. (n.d.). Relationship burnout: Signs, causes & how to overcome. Choosing Therapy. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://www.choosingtherapy.com/relationship-burnout/