Rebuilding Trust in a New Relationship: How To Stay Reassured

Sometimes, it’s more than just time that’s needed to heal all wounds. For serial monogamists, or those who have recently parted ways from a long-term relationship with a heavy heart, trying a new relationship can seem like a difficult move. It’s for this reason that steps should be taken to work at building your trust and healing those old wounds. After all, the past shouldn’t be allowed to prevent your future from flourishing.

Formalize previous legal issues

Sometimes, what makes it hard to move on from a previous relationship is unresolved legal issues. Perhaps you haven’t formally started legal proceedings, you still have child custody to sort out, or you’re worried about co-habitation laws. If any of these are weighing on your mind, and are preventing you from truly moving on, it might be a good idea to seek legal advice as well as personal advice. Contacting a solicitors office, such as Crisp & Co could help you to put any past issues to bed.

Prioritize communication

If you find it hard to trust new partners or find yourself second-guessing every action they make, then it might be a good opportunity to re-focus on communication. Communication is vital to any relationship and overlooking it can lead to feelings of suspicion and uncertainty. If you find yourself withholding your feelings, here are a couple of options to try:

• Bring up your feelings non-confrontationally. Approach moments of worry and concern with honesty – not criticism. Choose a wise moment to talk, not a rushed or inappropriate one.
• Consider whether your schedule is getting in the way: if your communication is breaking down due in a lack of opportunity, then it could be wise to plan moments in your schedules that are devoted to spending time with each other.

Embrace vulnerability

This is perhaps the hardest part of rebuilding trust. Vulnerability is the step taken in a relationship where you discover if the emotional safety net is really there or not. However, rest assured that every relationship has to go through this. Embracing vulnerability has been likened to be getting to know your best co-workers. The way we make friends at work is by enduring hardships with fellow colleagues. Without realizing it, we’ve endured these hardships by trusting our co-worker and pushing through to the other side with them.

Take a big step

If you don’t feel as if your relationship has really proved itself in terms of hardship or trust, then perhaps it’s a good time to take a further step in your partnership. Going on holiday together, or making a small investment together could be the proof you need to know that it’s going in the right direction.

Rebuilding your trust in relationships might not be easy. The reason for this is partially vulnerability: knowing that at some point you’ll have to take another momentous risk is a fundamental truth of any marriage or relationship. Take plenty of time in your relationship to communicate, tie up any legal loose ends and fundamentally trust the other person.