20 Usual Long Distance Relationship Problems & Ways To Fix Them

Couples in a long distance relationship are usually in a world of their own. In place of the regular physical intimacy witnessed in a short distance relationship, they often settle for the choicest communication means to stay connected. While of course there may be challenges associated with a long distance relationship, it may be unavoidable for some. The search for a greener pasture or better education is the reason some settle for it while others may simply want to be adventurous. Whatever be the intention or reason for you agreeing to go into a long distance relationship with someone, it is always good to know what you're up to. The next 20 points bring to the fore some of the almost unavoidable long distance relationship problems and their suggested solutions.

Couples in a long distance relationship would have to contend with the threat of losing their partner to another person while they are away. And this problem is a real one worthy of careful thought by anyone going to a relationship of this kind. Come to think of it, couples who see each other every day and share each other's burden sometimes break up let alone those living far apart. The temptation is always severe especially when emotional needs arise on either end. Here is how insecurity plays out in a long distance relationship: You don't have peace of mind on your partner as something keeps telling you someone somewhere may just be there to snatch them away from you. To this effect, you end up smothering your partner with too many calls and text messages just to be sure you're on top of your game. How To Address This? Well, the permanent solution here is to find a means for the two of you to be in one place soonest. The insecurity feeling though is a challenge to you is normal in a relationship of this kind especially judging by what one is witnessing here and there today. On the other hand, as a palliative measure, you should express your fears to your partner. Let them know you're afraid they'll be someone else's while you're away and that you're sincerely worried about that. If your fear is just a fear, they would assure you of their loyalty and put that in their minds in all that they do. But if indeed there's fire on the mountain, you can easily deduce that from their response.

You see, sometimes, loneliness may not mean that there are no people around us to talk to or play with but they may not be people we're connected to emotionally. To this effect, you can be in the midst of a crowd and still be feeling lonely. Long distance couples experience this a lot. And do you know why this happens? Well, it's because of a preset mind that their partner is far away and that they may not be able to see each other for a particular length of time. Maybe this illustration would drive this point home better: Have you noticed that you get hungry the most when you discover or know that you don't have anything you can eat? Now, you get the gist. That's what we're saying here. The feeling of loneliness in couples in this kind of relationship is triggered by their knowledge of their inability to see face-to-face until a certain time. Solution? Spending quality time with your partner on phone is a way out of this problem. Discuss your inner longings with them and of course, being in this kind of relationship you can't be unaware of video communication media options, so use them well. Technology has solved some of our problems to an extent. At a click, you can see your partner on the screen of your computer or mobile device. As a rule in this relationship, you don't want to focus on what you don't have but more on the things you have and have shared together. Concentrate more on the things that bring you together and not the ones that separate you.

The issue here is not about not having a means of getting across to each other but that of misinterpreting what is being said. It's rare if not hard for any relationship of this kind not to have this problem. It happens most when chatting via any of the social media or even with text messaging. A statement that you both would have laughed over when you're together and it is coming directly from your mouth is now being interpreted as you either being rude, uncaring, or even suspicious. Again, if for any reason you fail to reply your partner's message on time, they may start getting frustrated and as such, react inappropriately. Solution? Avoid ambiguity when communicating via text or chat. If you're not sure how your partner would receive a message or even an emoticon, forbid yourself from using it. In fact, it is recommended that you talk more than you text. Where you have missed each other's calls, endeavor to explain why it was that way. Let each one be aware of the other person's daily itinerary to guide against calling at odd hours.

Can you imagine being in a relationship with a person whose country of residence is 9 hours behind yours? It's going to be hard not having issues at some points with that. For instance, you need to talk to your partner and they tell you they are at work or sleeping, and there where you are, the day is just breaking. The same can be true for you too. They text and call you at odd hours and you're deprived of your sleep or distracted from work. Way Out? Understanding is the key. You would have to sit and plan your calls to tackle this problem. Text messages can be sent at any time but you'd need the understanding to know that response may not be immediate. Of course, there'll be some time when you would have to sacrifice your sleep or work to keep your relationship alive. You may want to see that as a price you have to pay for being in a long-distance relationship. So long you're getting the desired results, it is worth it.

With long distance relationships, knowledge of technology, particularly information technology is a rule and not an exception. One irritating thing about it is that you may find yourself depending on it too much. But what can you do? That's the only way you can stay connected with your partner. Truth be told, there are challenges associated with getting addicted to your phones or computers. You stand the risk of not knowing how to interact in real life again with your partner when you eventually come together. Risks aside, you can be in a place where the network is poor or it is your partner that would have that challenge. In such scenario, your relationship may be on the line. How To Address That? Be aware and informed of the latest in the world of I.T. You cannot afford to be ignorant on this. Again, find a means of circumventing the limitation that each may pose and educate your partner on such too. Because you are in a long distance relationship, there may be little that can be done on the problem of over-dependence on technology. It is necessary to keep your relationship alive.

It is not uncommon to see very close couples grow apart when they start living apart. Maybe this should be hammered on here. Long distance is actually not the best kind of relationship. In fact, it goes against the reason for a relationship in the first place. There are certain things you'll be missing with your partner living far away from you. The technology that would allow you hug or kiss your partner from another country is not yet in town and they need it! So, What Do You Do? Arrange to meet regularly. You don't always have to do the traveling; they too can come to where you are. This is one effective way you can address this problem. In addition to this, every time you call your long distance partner on phone, pay attention to everything they tell you. Be sensitive because if you're not, they may be far from you while you're there fooling around thinking you're still together.

This is a challenge every couple in a long distance relationship should be prepared to face and tackle. No matter how spiritual both of you may be, you'll still struggle with trusting each other. Well, the struggle may not be unfounded considering the fact that relationships that are not a long distance one also face the same challenge. Solution? Be prepared for what you're into. Problems like this arise in relationships whether a long distance or short one because partners are not fully educated about its pros and cons. No relationship can survive where there's no trust and one would have expected that you would have braced up for this. Learn to give your partner the benefit of doubt especially if you if they have not had a terrible history of messing around before. Your struggle is understandable but you just need to trust your partner.

No healthy relationship is cheap actually. It costs money, time, and commitment to get a relationship going. Moreso, with a long distance one, the expenses involved may be doubled. Take a look at the money you'll have to spend on internet subscriptions and travelings. It can even be overwhelming if both of you are continents afar. A single journey to visit your partner can gulp thousands of dollars. The Fix? Symbiosis. Yes, you may just have to mutually share the cost sometimes to get past this problem. It may be hard for just one partner to bear all the expenses alone as doing so may be the beginning of the end of your relationship.

Every relationship will have to manage one crisis or the other at a point. It's hard finding an exception to this. But with a long distance relationship, a simple misunderstanding is easily blown out of proportion. The reason for this is because the couples pay too much attention to words spoken or typed forgetting that words sometimes do not effectively convey our true intention. In fact, not everyone is good with words. Some do well in connecting with their partners physically more than looking for the "good" words to express themselves. Solution? Before blowing up on any matter between you and your partner, always be sure you understand what the real issue is. Ask questions and display maturity. If you perceive your partner is displaying some attitudes which you consider strange, avoid jumping to conclusions, verify what the issue is.

Your friends and even family members may be opposed to your long distance partner. Of course, how do you want them to be sure you're not in a relationship with a criminal or to be sure he or she has no other person beside you? Just face the reality, you may not get so many people to back you up with your long distance relationship. The normal insinuation from an average person is that it won't work. What's the way Out? Well, it lies with you. You can either confirm their fears or prove them wrong. The fact is that though being in a long distance relationship can be demanding and somehow hard to sustain, there are ample cases of successful ones. Point your "critics" to these successful relationships and let them know you're working on improving the statistics by adding to the number of the successful ones.

This is another problem technology, with many of its good sides, has not been able to address. Just imagine if someone cheated or maltreated your partner in which case, you should have been there for them to fight their course. It would be pretty hard for a faraway boy/girlfriend. Now, if such things keep recurring, the victim, in this case, may just begin to feel their relationship with you is not worth it. As in, why be in a relationship with a toothless bulldog? And God bless you if there's this person always filling in this gap for you! You may just have kissed your relationship bye. The Fix? To be honest with you, a way out of this problem is for you not to keep the long distance relationship too long. Make plans to get married or be together soon and if you're married, do all you can to get you and your sweetheart together in a place. Nothing can take the place of physical contact in a relationship.

Being in a long distance relationship may be shutting you up to every other relationship you may have earlier kept. Your free time is spent chatting or talking on the phone with your partner. This can actually spell doom for you in the coming days. Way Out? Don't allow your relationship with your long distance partner cage you or blind you from maintaining a positive relationship with your friends and family. Find time to play and interact with them. When you're in a problem, they're the first set of people you'll probably call on.

One effect of a long distance relationship is anxiety. Partners keep longing, hoping, and yearning to see each other. On the surface, you may think this is an advantage but as this feeling gets prolonged, it may become a health problem to manage soon. Remedy? Plan a regular visit to your long distance partner. The timeframe between one visitation and the other should not be too long and it must be respected. With this, the harmful effect of waiting endlessly is ruled out.

If anxiety with all its effects is not addressed, partners in a long distance relationship can come up with psychological conditions like depression. You just find yourself stuck and fed up with everything about life. Depression is usually an outcome of emotional dissatisfaction, a condition common with couples in a long distance relationship. The solution? To prevent this problem from arising in the first place, you'll have to avoid loneliness. This you can do by casting a broad net. Don't limit your discussion to your long distance partner alone. Get to interact with others around you and keep yourself engaged productively.

This is one of the perennial problems that long distance relationships pose to participants. The truth is that you cannot fully know a person from a long distance. What you hear and perhaps see may just be a makeup. And some people can keep up a persona for a long time. The aftermath of this is that in most cases where the long distance relationship eventually leads to marriage is a marital problem. You're amazed how your partner that talks nicely on phone suddenly does not have manners. The Fix? The long distance relationship must not be too long. If staying apart cannot be avoided, endeavor to visit regularly and do not let your long distance be unduly extended.

One thing partners struggle with in a long distance relationship is the uncertainty of the relationship itself. You know you love this person quite alright but you're not always together. What about they coming home to drop your dreaded bombshell that they are not interested in the relationship anymore? You're not sure whether to put all your eggs in one basket or not. Solution? Once you sense they are not committed, just quit. It is not wise wasting time on a relationship that your gut is already telling you will fail.

In a way, jealousy is not a problem actually. You need to be jealous or your partner begins to think they are nothing to you. But there is a level to which it becomes a problem. Long distance relationships particularly heighten it. Remedy? When those moments of jealousy arise, be honest enough to tell your partner. It is better handled when both of you are aware.

Another thing you cannot have online is sex. If you have been sexually involved before your partner leaves for another place, it's very hard staying without it for a while. You just need your partner to show up as failure to do this may put your relationship in jeopardy. Way Forward? Let your long distance partner understand your sexual needs and then you both can work a way out. Don't add to your problem by seeking help elsewhere as that may put an end to your relationship.

Naturally, you will find yourself talking a lot with your partner if your relationship is a long distance one. That's because talking is the easiest way you can get connected. However, with time, talking can become boring and monotonous. The Fix? Expand your discussions and make it participatory. It should be a dialogue and not a monologue.

Yes, this is a problem you may have to struggle with when in a long distance relationship. It gets to a point where one person behaves as if they own the other and as such, demands that all their biddings be done swiftly. At such scenarios, you may be met with a sort of query from your possessive partner if they have sent you a message and you have failed to respond or maybe you did not pick their call on time. Way Out? Don't bottle up. Explain issues to your long distance partner with calmness and unless you are married already, let them know they don't own you yet. After all, it's just a relationship.

Except where it has become totally unavoidable, keeping a long distance relationship is not the best. Even relationships that are not long distance face problems let alone one in which partners are far from each other. However, if you're already in a long distance relationship or you see one coming your way, the 20 problems to expect discussed in this piece should help you brace up for the challenges associated with it.