LIFE ADVICE
Trust Me, You Don’t Want a Karmic Relationship
If you believe the things that happen in movies or in the novels of Nicholas Sparks, then you probably think that everyone in the world wants an epic love story.
You either find your soulmate or you risk spending the rest of your life alone, wondering about what it is that you lack that couples seem to have.
This mindset is one of the reasons why a karmic relationship is so popular these days. It’s why so many people take risks and forgive anything just for a chance at a happy ending.
But I’m here to tell you why that kind of love affair is usually a bad idea.
What Is a Karmic Relationship and Why Do People Want One?
Psych Central describes it as a spiritual relationship between two people who are “brought together from past lives to resolve unfinished issues or impart important life lessons.”
It’s derived from the Hindu concept of karma, where an individual’s actions in one life has consequences that can affect their next life when they get reincarnated.
Healthline, on the other hand, defines karmic relationship as a connection that is filled with all-consuming passion as well as pain. It is intense and often not meant to last because it’s difficult to maintain.
If you’re the type to seek out tumultuous relationships because you want the thrill of experiencing big emotions, then this concept may be appealing to you. After all, lots of people dream about a “you-and-me-against-the-world” kind of love story because they believe that’s the only way to find true love.
But if you’re not careful, this approach to romance can be more trouble than it’s worth.
Instead of finding your soulmate, you can end up stuck in a toxic relationship with no way out.
What Are the Signs of a Karmic Relationship?
If you want to know how a karmic relationship develops or how to identify whether what you and your partner have fits the bill or not, below are some of the common signs you can use as a guide:
- Instant attraction and feeling like you’ve known them your whole life
- Ignoring red flags and constantly forgiving bad behavior
- Intense and borderline obsessive physical or emotional intimacy
- Codependency and inability to maintain healthy relationships with friends and family
- Persistent drama and repetitive fights that never get resolved
- Lack of communication
- Motivated by obligation instead of genuine connection
- Emotional burnout
The main feature of karmic relationships is how overwhelming your feelings can be when you’re together.
It feels like you’re fated to meet and fall in love, but that same sense of destiny is making your dynamic volatile, exhausting, and harder to justify with every passing day.
Is a Positive Karmic Relationship Possible?
To be fair, not all aspects of a karmic relationship are bad.
Law of attraction in dating is something that can give you a positive mindset and help you meet someone special. If it feels like you’re meant to be with someone, then perhaps it’s simply because you’re compatible with each other.
Having intense feelings for someone isn’t always terrible, either. All good relationships are built on genuine affection.
As long as you have mutual trust and respect, and you know what you’re getting into, you can get out of the honeymoon phase and have a happy life together.
But if your main reason for chasing after a karmic relationship is the excitement of loving someone to the point of destruction, then you have to accept that chances are, what you have isn’t going to last very long.
References
Brito, Janet, and Hope Gillette. 2023. “8 Signs of a Karmic Relationship.” Psych Central. https://psychcentral.com/relationships/karmic-relationship.
Litner, Jennifer. 2020. “Karmic Relationships: How to Identify Them and Break Free.” Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sex/karmic-relationship.
