Unhappiness in relationships does not always come with moping and mellow moods.

While these are easy, obvious pointers to an unhappy partner, sometimes, it takes a whole lot of sensitivity for you to know when your man or woman is going through a gloomy patch.

“Rough patches are a part of the relationship. Our partners, like us, go throw so many changes over the course of a relationship,” Dr. Joshua Klapow, Ph.D. tells Elite Daily.

In any case, it is important to realise that what your partner is going through in that moment does not mean they no longer love you. As humans, people go through all the emotional motions. It is only normal. It does not always mean that they are fed up of the relationship.

“We need to be careful not to attribute changes in the nature of the relationship, our emotions, or their emotions, to falling out of love,” the experts adds.

That said, these are some of the signs that show that a partner is going through a phase of unhappiness.

Unhappiness in romantic partnerships have subtle ways of showing. It does not always come in obvious forms such as moping and obvious gloomy moods.

1. Avoidance

When a partner checks out and no longer shows the level of emotional involvement they used to show before, you should be a little worried about them.

“You avoid your partner,” Dr. Klapow says of such partners. “You’re not arguing or appear mad, but rather you are doing more and more things on your own. You check in less with your partner, less discussion — you simply go at it alone.”

If your partner would rather be alone than spend time with you, it could be a sign of unhappiness.

2. Rather be alone

Allowing your partner enjoy private moments is very necessary. We couldn’t possibly speak more on the importance of maintaining individuality and cherishing ‘me time’ while in relationships. However, if there is more and more of this, it could be a telltale sign of unhappiness and could detrimental to the relationship.

“You may feel generally happy and are cordial to your partner but you just seem to be packing your schedule with more activities,” Dr. Klapow says. “It may be more work, more time with friends, or others, just more time without your partner.”

When your partner distances themselves more and more, you should be worried

3. Distancing

“When there feels to be a misfit, a distance that despite our efforts to come together is growing farther apart, it is possible that the relationship has indeed come to a point of no return,” Dr. Klapow explains.