As the saying goes, always listen to your gut.
An expert shared how a person’s hormones can help them determine if they’re with the right romantic partner or not.
If you often feel tired after a restful night’s sleep or you live in a constant state of anxiety, especially around the person you’re dating — odds are your cortisol levels are through the roof, according to Mike Kocsis, a hormone health expert from Balance My Hormones.
You should feel comforted and safe around your significant other, and if you feel the opposite — that’s your body telling you something is off.
“Cortisol is the main stress hormone, spiking when you’re under emotional or physical stress, and is designed to help you stay alert and react quickly in the face of danger,” he told The Mirror.
“But in a difficult relationship — like one that feels unsafe, unpredictable or overly demanding — your body can interpret everyday interactions as threats, leading to you constantly being in a mild level of fight-or-flight mode.”
While everyone loves the excitement of dating someone new — constantly chasing that dopamine rush throughout the course of a relationship isn’t healthy, according to the expert.
“Dopamine is the neurochemical or pleasure and reward, that is often mistaken for passion, but becomes unreliable and can spike and crash, following a classic addiction cycle,” he told the outlet.
If you’re more grumpy or sad than usual, your serotonin levels are most likely off — and you can thank your relationship for that.
“Serotonin oversees your mood, sleep, emotional balance, and even memory,” Kocsis said in the interview.
“It helps you feel steady, calm, and satisfied, so levels are high in happy and healthy relationships — but if a relationship is emotionally taxing, insecure and a source of constant conflict, levels decline, leading to irritability, emotional instability and symptoms of depression.”
And if sex suddenly starts feeling like a chore, “…it could be your hormones telling you something is wrong,” the expert pointed out.
In addition to trusting what your body is telling you, there are other tell-tale signs that can indicate your relationship may be on the fritz.
Feeling emotionally detached from your partner could sometimes be situational, but it can also mean something deeper that shouldn’t be ignored.
Resentment is another sign that you might have one foot out of your relationship.
“Resentment doesn’t just go away on its own. The root cause needs to be addressed and openly communicated to see if it is something you can forgive, don’t suppress your feelings,” human behavior expert and former psychological nurse, Jessen James, shared with the Daily Mail.
If arguments with your significant other never get resolved — that also might be a hint that it’s time to reconsider the relationship.
“If you keep falling back into the same trap and feel like you are on a hamster wheel after trying to resolve your differences, ask yourself whether the relationship is serving you both and if not, perhaps it is time to go your separate ways amicably,” James explained.
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