Let me share a quick story with you:
When I was a child, like most kids, I absolutely adored visiting the playground.
One particular day, while swinging across the monkey bars, I lost my grip and fell hard—chipping my tooth in the process. It was genuinely painful! That moment represented one of those childhood experiences where your innocent, carefree world suddenly collides with harsh reality.
From that day forward, I developed a deep fear of releasing my grip on those bars. The idea of voluntarily letting go, willingly accepting the possibility of falling, felt like intentional self-destruction.
As an adult, I’ve recognized a parallel pattern: I often struggle to release unhealthy relationships.
Releasing relationships, even when they’re causing us harm, feels terrifying—so we cling tighter.
This resonates, doesn’t it? Can you recall a time when you remained in a relationship despite knowing it wasn’t right for you?
Through working with numerous women, I’ve identified several primary reasons we persist in relationships that are damaging our wellbeing:
The Investment Fallacy
Many relationships begin positively but gradually deteriorate over time. By this stage, we’ve invested substantial energy, time, and emotional resources into the partnership. We find ourselves rationalizing red flags because the thought of abandoning our investment feels unbearable.
Desperate Hope
Emotions powerfully influence our decisions. Sometimes we remain in unhealthy relationships because we desperately want them to work—for various personal reasons—and we allow this emotional longing to override our better judgment.
The Worthiness Dilemma
Many women I work with struggle with deep-seated feelings of unworthiness that trap them in unsatisfactory relationships for years. They remain because they genuinely don’t believe they deserve healthier treatment or more fulfilling connections.
Interestingly, relationships aren’t the only attachments we need to release. Destructive habits, limiting beliefs, negative thought patterns, and unrealistic expectations—both for ourselves and others—also require conscious release to create space for what we truly desire in life.
Related posts:
What we can learn from celebrity breakups
Things To Say Besides “I Love You”
Is this holding you back in dating?
How To Break Relationship Patterns
The Dating Mindset Shift That Can Radically Transform Your Love Life
How Trauma Affects Relationships
7 Ways to Show Your Man You Love Him – He Just Wants To Be Loved
Why We Hold Onto Relationships That Hurt
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