The Importance of Trust in Relationships
Trust is one of the first words that comes to mind when you think about the elements of a strong, loving bond between two people. Relationships rely on positive feelings and trust is a key element of a healthy emotional connection. Everyone wants to feel secure in the affection and respect of a loved one and being able to rely on your partner to be honest and truthful is crucial to a relationship that allows you to feel happy and secure.
Having trust in a romantic partner affects all areas of the relationship. In the short-term, it leads to feelings of security and satisfaction. Long-range it impacts many different issues that couples have to deal with. Usually, romantic partners begin a relationship with a high level of trust. Sometimes, this is more the result of infatuation and wishful thinking than of any demonstrated trustworthiness. True trust must be earned and there are several ways for that to happen.
Building Trust
To build trust in a relationship two people first have to understand what trust is and then agree to take the time and devote the effort to create it. Trust involves building a connection based on mutual respect and consideration. This requires openness and honesty from both people. It can feel scary to reveal your thoughts and emotions to another person, but that’s the beginning of learning to trust each other.
Elements of Trust
Basically, trusting another person means believing that they will always be honest in their dealings with you and have your best interests at heart. Some of the elements of trust between two people include:
- Being honest at all times
- Showing reliability in everyday interactions
- Keeping promises, including minor ones
- Not keeping secrets from each other
- Not divulging each other’s personal information
- Respecting each other’s personal boundaries
- Taking responsibility for mistakes
- Remaining faithful to each other
- Not blaming each other
Broken Trust
Trust is broken when a partner ignores some or all of the points listed above. The emotional impact of broken trust between partners can be devastating. The flip side of putting your trust in a person is feeling betrayed and attacked when that trust is destroyed. Once you begin to realise that your partner has dishonoured your bond by lying, letting you down or being unfaithful, it impacts many other areas of your life.
Moving Forward
Once trust has been betrayed two people have to decide if they’re going to move forward together or separately. Open and direct communication is necessary for a relationship to have a chance at being rehabilitated. Each partner must be honest about their own role in the issues at hand and refrain from putting all the blame on one side or the other. It’s crucial that trust and honesty be restored at this point for a relationship to have any chance of surviving.
Facing the Facts
It’s just as important to be honest with yourself as it is to be truthful to your loved one. While it may be tempting to follow your feelings when a partner has been dishonest or unfaithful you must look at the facts objectively. Use your good judgement to determine if your partner is sincere about rehabilitating your relationship. If the evidence points towards a continuing pattern, it may be time to leave a situation that you have no hope of changing.
An Informed Decision
Before you decide how to proceed once trust has been broken, it’s important to have all the facts at your fingertips. That’s why it’s valuable to engage the services of a discreet, professional investigative service. You’ll no longer have to guess whether or not your partner is being honest with you, but will finally have the peace of mind of knowing the facts. This gives you the ability to make the best decision possible for your own well-being and happiness, and to chart a clear path forward.