Friday, March 29, 2024

An Open Relationship: Signs That It Is Not Meant For You

What is The Meaning of “An open relationship”?

An open relationship or rather a consensually non-monogamous relationship is not the usual practice prevalent in our society. We have accepted the monogamous relationship as the standard norm universally accepted by all.

Though it has been observed that human beings, particularly the male fraternity, have an inherent leaning towards polygamy, society traditionally never showed any leniency or kindness in accepting non-monogamous relationships. There is nothing wrong with maintaining a polygamous or rather a polyamorous relationship. But, both the male and female partners should have mutually agreed upon in this respect.

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However, maintaining an open relationship is rather difficult. In the history of the evolution of humanity, human beings slowly and steadily evolved from being polyamorous to monogamous for their convenience.

Certain signs show a person’s unsuitability of being involved in a non-monogamous relationship. So let us take a quick look at the character traits that are likely to make you unfit for an open relationship:

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1. The Jealousy Factor

To have a consensually non-monogamous relationship, both partners need to wholly agree that they will have to share their partners with multiple other persons, both emotionally and physically. There is no room for feeling jealous in this respect. Human beings have an inborn tendency to feel possessive about their partners.

There is no such scope for showing any possessiveness about the partner in an open relationship. Nor should a person have any complaints.

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When a person does not have much control in these respects and helplessly finds himself in a spot of bother with the idea of sharing his partner with multiple others, he should understand his inability to commit such a relationship and should declare his disregard for such relationship.

2. Obsession Of Defining A Relationship

An open relationship is complicated. It can bring confusion galore in a person’s life. But people who believed in openness and a clear-cut definition of a relationship would not like to fall prey to the vicious circle of an open relationship.

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They would rather prefer to stay happy committed to one person at a time only and avoid the complication and confusion arising out of an open relationship.

3. Emotional Dependence

In a monogamous relationship, both partners share their emotions. With the sharing of emotions, there comes a feeling of dependence upon one another.

There is no such scope of emotional attachment in an open relationship. People genuinely in need of emotional dependence/support should stay away from such relationships.

4. Inability To Tolerate Criticism in an Open Relationship

An open relationship is not the standard norm in our society. People often criticize such relationships. A person needs to have a strong ability to brush aside such criticism and take such a relationship forward without being perturbed by what society feels or says.

On the other hand, succumbing to the pressure created by public perception will only make a person unsuitable for being in such relationships.

5. Version To Secrecy Between Individuals

In a monogamous relationship, both partners keep themselves updated about the whereabouts of their respective counterparts. So they seem to be 100% open to each other in every aspect of their life.

On the contrary, all the persons involved have more secrets in an open relationship than they possibly divulge to their partners. Everybody keeps their secrets close to their heart, making the relationship even more complicated and confusing.

6. The Happily Ever After Dreamer

People strive to bring happiness to their families by every means. There is an eternal dream of living happily ever after embedded in the minds of human beings. In the scenario of an open relationship, the fulfillment of such dreams will never be possible due to its polygamous nature involving several persons.

Suppose such dreams can be turned into reality only in the case of a monogamous relationship. People with such dreams will be better off satisfied with a monogamous relationship and not vice versa.

7. Abhorrence To Casual Sex

Many people feel their emotional and sexual needs irrevocably intertwined with one another. It’s not about morality; it’s about choice. A person may not like to be interested in sleeping around and may prefer to have one stable, dependable partner. It does mean the person is against casualness but is rather serious about his sex life. He is not inclined to take sex lightly and prefers relating to sex with emotions. For such people, getting engaged in an open relationship is a strict no-no.

 

There are always exceptions in our world. Though uncommon and a bit unusual in our society, open relationships, many will strongly advocate for such a cause.

Many people searching for a little variety but feel suffocated and trapped by getting committed to a monogamous relationship will find solace in the comfort of an open relationship. So, such relationships are not meant for all.

So only a handful of people with a strong desire and needs of unique nature and the ability to ignore public perception will be able to withstand the usual complications associated with an open relationship.

However, if you related to any of the above character traits and felt that the person described by these traits seem very similar to you, then you need to rethink your decision of getting involved in an open relationship. There is a high probability that such a relationship is just not meant for you. Just look twice before you take the big leap.





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