Things that compromise trust in a relationship: Expert shares insights

From being violent to not trying to meet the needs of the partner to lying, here are a range of situations which can affect the trust in a relationship.

A relationship is built on understanding, communication and trust. Trust forms one of the foundations of a healthy relationship. A safe and secure relationship requires two people to completely trust each other and keep believing in each other. That's when a safe space is formed for both of their emotions to feel safe and thrive. However, in some cases, trust may get broken. Speaking of such situations, Psychotherapist Emily H Sanders wrote, “Broken trust in a relationship isn’t solely something that happens if your partner is physically intimate with someone else. Feeling betrayed or damaged trust can happen for a number of reasons. A compromised relationship doesn’t mean the end, but it does mean some repair work is needed.”

Emily further added that even though broken trust in a relationship can be repaired, it depends on a lot of factors - “The extent of the repair work depends on several factors, like- the nature of wound, the type of deception/manipulation involved, repeated wounding, the emotional maturity of each partner, the ability to recognize the need to change/taking action towards sustained change, etc.”

Emily noted down the things which compromise trust in a relationship; they are, as follows:

Promises: Often in relationships, we are not able to keep the promises that we make. If this keeps repeating, the trust gets affected.

Belittling: Fun and sarcasm are parts of a fun relationship, however there are boundaries to follow. When it becomes belittling the partner, the relationship gets affected.

Secrets: keeping financial information as secrets or hiding facts that can affect both the people, can affect the trust.

Lies: When lies become rampant in a relationship, the other person starts to lose trust.

Needs: The needs expressed by the partner should be met, or at least tried to be met. When the efforts stop, the relationship gets impacted.

Violence: Physical or verbal or emotional violence can be very impactful in a relationship – it can often end the relationship as well.