With changing times, the concept of relationships has changed a lot. People are not bound to have a certain kind of relationship and could choose their relationship according to their preferences. One kind of relationship that is trending now a day is an open relationship, but there is still a lot of confusion regarding it. Here we are going to discuss the highs and lows of being in such a relationship.
Few responsibilities or no responsibility at all:
From the above point, it is clear that in open relationships, there is no need for commitment in an open relationship. Now, if we talk about closed relationships, then they come with a lot of commitments and thus, you need to show responsibility also. Your partner does a lot of things for you and you need to give it back to them. However, the same is not expected in an open relationship. You are not committed and therefore you don’t either get the responsibilities also.
No commitment, no sacrifices:
This is a drawback of the open relationship. When two people are in a relationship, there is love and trust between them. This is called the building block of a relationship, but an open relationship lacks that. Couples make a lot of sacrifices and compromises for each other, but when someone is in an open relationship, he or she is not bound to do so. There is no fixed time to stay with one person and thus, there is no chance of compromises and sacrifice then become a big word.
Less risk of heart breaks:
In a relationship that lacks commitment, you are not connected to your partner emotionally. In an open relationship, people usually change their partners like they change clothes. Most of the time you are there for sexual pleasure and there is no conversation at all. When you are in an open relationship, you don’t know about that person and the person that doesn’t know about it. So, when if there is no connection you will not feel anything while quitting.
A lot of personal space:
This is a good point regarding open relationships. Now, when you are in an open relationship you don’t need to show any commitment towards your partner. This simply means that the hours that the couples use to dedicate to each other normally in a normal relationship, you just don’t need to do that. This means that all your time is yours and you could spend it wherever you want. You are in this kind of a relationship, therefore your partner is going to understand it clearly and will respect it. If not, then you can simply quit.
Your identity is not lost:
Sometimes, in the conventional relationship people become so dependent on each other that they lose their identity. This is something that you won’t face in an open relationship. Here, there is no sort of commitment and nothing serious about the relationship. This simply means that the two partners don’t really need to rely upon each other and thus can make their recognition in the society and the world. The most important point is that you are not bound to do anything in these relationships, so there is no question of dependency and identity.
Equality is the key:
In the previous point, we discussed that in an open relationship, the two people involved live like two individuals and enjoy their identity. Having said that, the next important word that needs to be there in any relationship is equality. Now, even if you are not married, we don’t see couples sharing the same role. One out of the two of them is dominating over the other. In an open relationship, you won’t face this problem. Since you are not dependent on your partner, you are free to take your decisions and to do what you want to do.
More options to explore:
This is something that depends on a person. For some people, it a high and for some, it is low. If you are someone who works vigorously and you have no time, then you cannot go and find someone for you. After quitting one relationship, you will feel lonely and can’t get someone real soon. However, a person who have time and want to quit a relationship, then he or she can simply go to find someone new.
See this article from Medium that talks why quitting should be an option.
Risks of STD:
Now, this is something really important and risky. A lot of people talk to new people just out of curiosity. Some of them just want to explore new options, but a lot of them come together for sexual pleasure. Now, in this process, the biggest problem is that you can get into sexually transmitted diseases. As we have already mentioned, people usually avoid conversations in this kind of relationship. So, you don’t know who is who and what negatives they have. Therefore, getting these sexual diseases incorporated into yourself is very easy.
More productivity in life:
There are a lot of people who think that being in a relationship can waste your time. This is not true in every time, but one can’t say anything as relationships are all about two people involved in it. Now, if you too are a person like this, being in an open relationship can help you. Since there are no boundaries in this kind of relationships, you are free to work as much as you can, earn as much as you can and travel as much as you can. So, those who have been through a problematic relationship, they can go for an open relationship and this is high for you.
Related: What Being In A Relationship Means
So, these were the highs and lows of being in an open relationship. If you will go through all these points one by one, you will notice that all the advantages and disadvantages are dependent on the kind of person you are. But, if you don’t want to be in any kind of commitment yet want to enjoy all the perks of a relationship, an open relationship is your chance.