Do you keep breaking up with your partner and going back to the same person after some time? Well, there is no doubt that relationships are already a tricky affair and getting stuck in this cycle where you keep breaking up and patching up with a partner makes it even trickier. If you think you are stuck in an 'on-again, off-again' relationship, here are a few things that would help you gain clarity about your relationship.

The one thing you can be sure about is that there is a lot of confusion in your relationship. You need to give serious thought to what draws you both back to each other every time you decide to part ways. Is it the comfort of being in a relationship? Is it the fear of not finding someone better? Or, is it actually your genuine feelings for your partner?

Break-ups happen for a reason! You might have been through some terrible phase with your partner or have seen the grey areas that you can no longer bear with. Maybe, some of his habits disrupt your peace of mind or you do not appreciate how he handles stressful situations. Basically, you both have been through testing times and have an idea about each other’s not-so-good traits. And that brings us to the next point: are these fights helping you to improve your relationship?

Analyse all the topics on which you fought with your partner and that forced you to call it quits. The logic is simple—if you feel your issues are unresolvable and you both keep fighting on same topics always, it's a vicious cycle and the relationship is not heading anywhere. But if you guys always manage to find a middle ground and your arguments helps to bring you closer and in turn, strengthen your relationship, there is still hope that you are going strong.

When a small argument with our partner can make us feel upset, then think how stressful an 'on-and-off' relationship can be. In fact, according to a research, people who frequently broke-up and patched up with their partner had a higher level of psychological stress.

Another factor that will help you decide what is best for your relationship is by observing what happened during the time when both had parted ways and were ‘single’. Did one of you open an account on a dating app and started meeting prospective love interests? Or, one of you started looking for other options and you both got back only when you did not find a better person to date? Answering this question honestly would help you understand your relationship better.

Communication plays a crucial role to make a relationship stronger. Do you both have the same relationship goals and want to see a future together? What is the exact reason that is keeping this relationship afloat? Hold a serious-yet-candid discussion with your partner and instead of blaming each other for all the things that went wrong, talk about whether you both are willing to resolve them and move on without holding a grudge.

If you are merely clinging to the relationship with the hope things would be okay one day or there would be a miracle that would change your partner, maybe you are living in a Utopian world. When everything feels confusing, take a deep breath and listen to your gut. If you feel your relationship is not heading in the right direction, it’s best to part your ways and be hopeful that life has better things in store for you.

(All images used here are representational)