Discussion 300 words

• Identify the phases of relationship deterioration and the communication patterns that accompany each stage of the relationship process. Relate this information to a personal experience of breaking up a friendship or a romance.

The relationship deterioration stage is characterized by a weakening of the bonds between the friends or lovers. The first phase of deterioration is usually intrapersonal dissatisfaction: You begin to experience personal dissatisfaction with everyday interactions and begin to view the future with your partner more negatively. If this dissatisfaction grows, you pass to the second phase, interpersonal deterioration. You withdraw and grow further and further apart. You share less of your free time. You exchange fewer messages. When you’re together, there are awkward silences, fewer disclosures, less physical contact, and a lack of psychological closeness. Conflicts become more common and their resolution more difficult.

Relationship deterioration involves unique communication patterns. During the deterioration stage you may, for example, increase withdrawal, communicate less, respond to Facebook pokes and requests for “likes” less often; texting becomes infrequent, and face-to-face meetings are fewer. In communication, each person reduces his or her level of self-disclosure. These patterns are in part a response to the deterioration; you communicate the way you do because you feel that your relationship is in trouble. However, these patterns are also causative: The communication patterns you use largely determine the fate of your relationship.

Note: this is from my book so you could have another reference