7 Ways to Build Trust in a Relationship

You’ve probably heard that trust is the foundation for strong relationships. Without it, relationships won’t grow or progress and will eventually fail.
And you probably know that trusting your partner is the most important part of your relationship.
But what happens if you’re in a new relationship and you don’t have trust yet? Or if you’ve lost trust? Can you get it back? If you’re struggling to build trust in a relationship, would an intensive workshop help?

Can A Relationship Survive When Trust Is Broken?

Couple Smiling Intensive Workshop
Before you can start building trust, you must understand what trust means for your partner and yourself. It’s essential that you communicate your expectations and thoughts and understand what your partner needs.
Building trust starts with sharing your hopes for the relationship and what you expect each other to do (or not do) to keep your love alive. Communicate openly with your partner and try to determine the best approach for your relationship. Take small steps, be patient, or try attending a building trust in a relationship intensive workshop.
Read on to learn what you can do to bring back trust!

How Do You Build Trust In A Relationship?

Losing trust is far easier than building it back up. If there has been a betrayal, you may feel like you’ll never be able to trust your partner again. Still, it is possible to re-establish trust if both parties in a relationship are willing to put in the effort. If you and your partner wish to rebuild trust and make the relationship work, you should know that it will take quite a bit of time, patience, and compromise.

Steps To Rebuilding Trust In A Relationship

Trust is an essential building block in any mature relationship. If you are determined to build a deeper and healthier connection with your partner, you will have to learn how to be comfortable around your partner again if trust has been broken. Here are 7 steps you can take to rebuild trust in your relationship:

1) Be Vulnerable

Be open and vulnerable with your partner by sharing things you often keep hidden. If you’ve been hurt in previous relationships, then it’s likely you want to avoid talking about expectations because you don’t want to be hurt again. However, the only way to make the relationship work is to be real and open.

2) Communicate Openly

If you have something important to discuss, I recommend that this is always done in person. Although using text, email or even phone calls to communicate is useful, it can lead to misunderstandings as the real meaning of the message can be misinterpreted.

3) Keep Secrets

One big way to build trust is to keep your partner’s secrets if that is requested and healthy. Treasure them. Respect them. As a couple, the relationship deserves privacy.

4) Keep Promises

Make it a priority to keep your promises to your partner. Whether it’s a small thing or a big thing, keep your commitments. This shows respect, support, and reliability, which is the key to build trust.

5) Respect Each Other’s Differences

Before you can build trust, you must respect each other’s differences without judgment. Even if you don’t understand why something is important to your partner, simply respect the fact that it is important.

6) Be Forgiving

Trusting each other doesn’t mean mistakes won’t happen. When they do, the important thing is to be forgiving. Holding onto grudges erodes trust in relationships. Instead, let go of the hurt, accept the apology and move on.

7) Be Supportive

It is critical to be supportive of each other. Being supportive allows you and your partner to be authentic knowing someone has your back. It means you can have confidence knowing you’re supported whenever you take a risk, learn new things or even make mistakes.

How Do You Trust After Betrayal?

If one of you has been betrayed in the relationship, then building trust back is very difficult, but it can be done. If you both want it. In fact, trust must be repaired for the relationship to survive.
Here are three steps that can help:

  1. Apologize/accept an apology: when trust is broken in a relationship, the first thing to do is to acknowledge the feelings of hurt, apologize and take responsibility for what has happened. Show love, care and respect for each other. If your partner betrayed you, make an effort to accept the apology.
  2. Promise not to hurt again: This promise must be real. A promise that must be kept. What’s more, the promise needs to be backed up with action.
  3. Analyze feelings: If you were betrayed, then take time to analyze and understand your feelings. Don’t deny or dismiss hurt feelings. Instead, ask yourself, “How deeply am I hurt?” “How long do I want to keep this feeling of hurt?” “What do I want from this relationship?”

Trust must be earned. It takes time. Especially if there has been a betrayal. But it doesn’t have to be impossible. Approach your relationship and each other with respect and understanding. Be open. Be vulnerable. Be real. Do what you say you will do. Stay true to yourself, and your expectations and a trusting relationship will grow.

We Bring Intensive Private Couple Retreats For Reconnection


It is only when you have trust and love, that your relationship will thrive. Unfortunately, many couples struggle with overcoming intimacy issues and building a stable and trusting relationship. Everybody needs a little push from time to time, and reaching out to experienced relationship coaches may be just what you and your partner need to make the relationship work.
If you would like help to build deep trust in your relationship, then contact PIVOT. By attending a couple relationship management workshop, you will learn how to build deeper connections and rebuild trust. Our relationship intensive retreats and our relationship coaching designed for individuals and couples can give you the tools you need to facilitate lasting change. Give us a call!

5 Signs Of Lacking Trust In Your Relationship

Have you been told that you have problems trusting others in relationships? Do you know if you’re difficult to please? Do you set unrealistic expectations in your relationships? Or do you avoid intimacy because you’re scared of being hurt?
If you can relate to some of these questions, then you may have challenges trusting yourself and others. Luckily, you can find the help you need to build trust in a relationship in a PIVOT workshop. With assistance from our PIVOT coaches, you’ll learn how to create healthier relationships based on trust and deep intimacy.
Keep reading to find out more about trust issues and learn how to overcome them.

What Causes Trust Issues?

How Do I Know If I Have Trust Issues
Although you may desperately want love and to be loved, trust issues will make you unwilling to emotionally attach to someone because you don’t want to get hurt.
In many cases, trust issues come from past hurts that occurred in previous romantic relationships or from unhealthy family relationships during childhood. Or both. This will, of course, depend on your specific circumstances.
If you want to discover the cause of your trust issues, you should take a look at your relationship history, both with your parents and previous partners. For example, you may have developed trust issues if:

  • Your parents got divorced
  • One or both of your parents were alcoholic
  • You were adopted
  • You lost a sibling or parent
  • You had a history of abuse in your childhood
  • Your parents were emotionally unavailable
  • You felt neglected during your childhood
  • Your previous partners cheated on you
  • You cheated on previous partners
  • You have a history of low self-esteem
  • You are afraid of being abandoned

Many people with trust issues know they have trouble in their relationships, but don’t realize it comes from a trust problem. That is why it’s important to seek a fresh perspective from a relationship coach who can help you understand where your challenges come from and help you overcome trust issues in your relationship.

How Do I Know If I Have Trust Issues?

If you’ve been experiencing problems related to trust in your relationships, you may be confused about what a normal amount of distrust is and what constitutes severe trust issues. While many people believe that some jealousy is a normal part of relationships, you should be able to tell when too much is too much.
Healthy relationships are based on trust and intimacy. If you feel like you can’t trust your partner fully, you may still be healing from past wounds which influence your present relationships. If that’s the case, you will need to learn how to rebuild trust in order to create and maintain stable and happy relationships.

What Are The Signs Of Trust Issues?

Trust challenges can manifest themselves in a myriad of ways. Still, many people who struggle with trusting their partners have certain behavioral patterns that may indicate trust issues. Look out for the following behaviors:

1) You Are Afraid Of Commitment

Perhaps, you have challenges being vulnerable and sharing because you don’t want to get hurt again. This means your relationship is based on trust issues rather than on true feelings or real emotions.
If you have trust issues, then you are more likely to be afraid to commit emotionally, for fear of getting hurt if the relationship ends.

What Causes Trust Issues2) Fast, Intense Relationships That Suddenly End

You may become involved in romantic relationships quickly, but they are intense and short-lived.
You may be excited or even addicted to the newness of the relationship, but once things get familiar, your romance ends.

3) You Assume The Worst

No matter what happens, you assume the worst about your partner. If they haven’t answered their phone it’s because they’re cheating. If they’re not with you, then they must be betraying you.
Your first thought is to think you are being cheated on. You don’t consider that your partner may just be busy or catching up with family.

4) Unrealistic Expectations In Relationships

If you have trust issues, then you may be expecting perfection in your partner. You hold your partner to an impossibly high standard and won’t tolerate any imperfections.
Unfortunately, expecting perfection in someone else typically leads to sabotaging true romance from growing.

5) You Need To Be In Control

You may be challenged to allow others to be in the lead.
The reason is that you don’t want to be disappointed, so you want to stay in control… always.

How Can I Overcome Trust Challenges In A Relationship?

If you recognize any of the signs above, then know that you’re not alone. Lots of people struggle with fears of being hurt.
The good news is that you can change and break the cycle of your trust issues, so you can be safe in a relationship and not feel engulfed. Here are some tips:

  • Figure out where your trust issues come from and try to accept your past hurts.
  • Be honest about your partner about what you are looking for in a relationship.
  • Listen carefully to your partner’s wishes and needs.
  • Work together with your partner to overcome your trust challenges.
  • Keep your expectations in check and think before you act.

Attend The #1 Building Trust In A Relationship Intensive Workshop

The first step to overcoming trust issues is recognizing the importance of trust in a relationship and the source of your pain.
What Are The Signs Of Trust Issues
As certified relationship advocates at PIVOT, we encourage our clients to not be hard on themselves. You are not “broken” or flawed. Instead, make the decision to improve your life by learning and evolving. To do this, you need to be open to change.
One of the best ways to empower positive change is to get support and expertise from trained individuals that specialize in relationships and attachment challenges. At PIVOT, we offer effective relationship building retreats and intensive workshops for both couples and individuals.
Remember, you are worthy of happiness and love, and you do matter.
If you are ready to create meaningful connections and overcome challenges trusting yourself and others, then contact PIVOT. We’re here to help.