How to Know if a Relationship is Healthy

As a professional therapist, people come to me all the time with relationship ambivalence. They’re stressed and uncertain if the relationships they’re in is worth the effort. 

To help resolve this conflict, I offer the following question:

It’s sometimes a tough question to answer. After all, it’s not anyone else’s job to make you better, nor is any relationship perfect.

Rather, relationships exist as a ratio of value and joy weighed against headache and heartache.

If the relationship is asymmetrical in that the value and joy it brings greatly outweighs the heartache and the heartache, then it’s worth sticking with and investing in. If, however, the scales are fairly even between the two, then the relationship is clearly in need of repair or separation. 

Don’t get me wrong, every relationship goes through growing pains, miscommunications, and tough times. However, it’s the ones that bring out the best in us, that are worth the ongoing effort!