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Topics: Sex and Relationships
Rhiannon Ingle
A sex and relationship therapist has shared the five main signs that mean your relationship might be about to end.
Lauren Consul, 34, has broken down pretty much every break-up into just a handful of key warning signs that couples should be aware of.
Lauren has also offered advice on how to save a relationship if it ever ends up on the rocks.
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The sex therapist has pointed out the most important things to look out for if you ever feel like you're about to get dumped.
One glaring warning sign that Lauren outlines is the importance of arguments in a relationship and how your conduct in them is just as crucial as outside of them.
Failing to see your partner's perspective can really exacerbate certain issues in a relationship and these only become more pronounced during arguments.
Lauren advises couples to beware of getting stuck in the loop mid-fight as opposed to actually getting to the bottom of the deeper meaning of the argument.
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She said: "Two people can experience the same thing but feel completely differently about it.
"If we get stuck in the 'right sight' we are saying one person's experience is valid and the other is not."
To overcome this, Lauren advises people to 'take a pause and reflect' on our partner is communication to us and 'validate' them.
"That tells our partner we are listening and what they are saying makes sense [and] shows we are on the same team," she added.
She said: "The key is coming back and working together as a team to resolve any issue. It's always easy to go apart and a lot harder to come back together."
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So, according to the sexpert, we should all be scrapping the 'he said, she said' blaming rhetoric when it comes to lovers' quarrels and should be willing to take responsibility for the argument instead.
A second big warning sign is not 'maintaining curiosity' about your partner.
Lauren explains: "You stop asking questions, and you stop inquiring about their dreams or hopes - you just assume you know because you have been together for a long time."
This, according to the expert, is a big no-no.
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She warns against couples slipping into 'roommates' roles, noting: "When we start dating, we ask lots of questions and are interested in each other, but over time we forgot or start presuming and stop asking our partner questions.
"It is all about continuing to ask questions - how are they feeling? What are they thinking? And what their long-term goals are."
The third sign is all about partners not being able to take accountability for their specific role in the 'relationship cycle'.
"You are just saying, 'Well if my partner would just change or do this differently, everything would be fine'," Lauren continues.
Lauren explained: "It is a lot easier to point the finger at our partner.
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"What you do impacts your partner which then impacts you - behaviours get reinforced."
The penultimate sign comes about when your words and actions are not 'consistently aligning' which means that your partner can't totally trust that whatever you say will be consistent with what you end up doing.
And, lastly, the fifth and final sign is when you don't have your partner's back.
"You don't stand up for them, you don't support them," Lauren noted, "you feel like you guys are more fighting each other than fighting the issues or fighting the world as a team."
However, not to fear as the sexpert has said that people can come back from a potential break-up situation by showing your partner your willingness to change.
She said that a relationship is all coming 'coming together' to 'collaborate and understand' each other in order to 'find a solution to fix the issue'.