A healthy relationship also demands a healthy closure when the time comes. Just how we invest emotions and put in efforts to make a relationship healthy and secure for ourselves and our partner, it is also important to learn to end a relationship in a healthy way. “Just like you can learn secure habits in a relationship to make it healthier, you can learn how to end a relationship in a secure and healthy way. This way you walk away knowing you did what you could to create a healthy environment for the other person to find closure and for yourself too,” wrote Therapist Israa Nasir as she explained the need of ending a relationship in a healthy way.
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She further noted down a few tips on how we can make the end of a relationship healthy and secure, and how it is important for the mental health:
Avoidance: it is important to understand when a relationship has hit a dead end. It is also important to put an end to the relationship then and there and understand that the more we stretch it, the more pain and disruption it is going to cause.
Response: We never can fathom how much an action can hurt others. So, we must always anticipate an emotional response coming from the other end when we speak of ending things.
Defenses: After we have spoken about ending the relationship, we should not get into defensive techniques of putting blame on each other and dissecting the relationship to come out. Maintain hygiene in the relationship and move on.
Preparation: We should not bring the breakup randomly and leave it there. We should give them heads up and speak about it calmly and then arrive at the decision.
Honesty: Be honest and transparent about the reason for the breakup. We should also take ownership of our mistakes.
Keep it clean: We should have a clear idea of what will happen after the breakup. Keep clear boundaries and respect them.
Empathy: We should be compassionate and empathetic towards the other person and give them enough time to soak in the change.
