People change. That's a rather simple statement, but it can also hold a lot of depth. If you are in a relationship, then you are well-aware of how appropriate this saying can be. However, if your boyfriend has been acting really strange lately, has been trying to avoid you, or is treating you poorly, then you are probably asking yourself, "Why is my boyfriend acting the way he his?"

If it's any comfort, you should know that a lot of women have asked themselves that exact same question over the years. To be honest, there is a chance that you will never find out the real reason, and that's okay. On the other hand, you are probably worried it could be for any number of reasons, and none of the reasons you are imaging are good.

The first thing you need to consider is that your boyfriend isn't acting differently at all. In other words, the only thing that has really changed is you. Either something else in your life has changed, or you are only now becoming aware of how your boyfriend is acting...even though he may have been acting this way the entire time. Your gut reaction will be that this isn't possible, but take a step back and try to look at things objectively.

Let's assume that your boyfriend really is acting differently. What you need to do is clear your mind of any preconceived ideas for the causes of his behavior. No matter what you think the reason is, there is a strong chance that you are mistaken. Also, if you have a preconceived idea of why he's acting a certain way, then that can lead to false accusations.

Generally speaking, men don't like to talk about things; they are taught to be tough and not show any signs of weakness. For example, your boyfriend may be worried about losing his job, but he won't want to tell you that he's worried because that would be a sign of weakness. However, he could be expressing that stress in other ways, such as having a bad temper. You see the bad temper and ask why is my boyfriend acting this way.

Your mind starts racing and you may even try to think of what you could have done to make him mad. But the truth is that you haven't done anything; it's his job that's the source of the problem. Things will only get better when you get to the root of the problem.

That means you are going to have to get him to open up about what's really bothering him. Under no circumstances should you start the conversation by saying the four words men dread most: "we need to talk." Just tart a natural conversation in a calm and welcoming way. A good way to do this is to ask a few non-threatening, non-accusatory questions. Once he opens up you will have the answer to your question, "Why is my boyfriend acting the way he is?"

You love him. Oh, you love him so much. The last thing you would want to do is "crowd" him. And you didn't think you were. You thought all the togetherness you and your boyfriend were experiencing was as wonderful for him as it was for you. Only now he says something that indicates he felt just the opposite.

He says he wants his space -- but he doesn't want to lose you. Huh?

First reaction: "Well, just how much space, darling? Should I go stand on the other side of the room or leave the house entirely?"

His answer: "No, no. Don't leave. It's just that ... well, I need some space."

Women are always puzzled when a man says he wants his space. What exactly does it mean to you and to your relationship?

To be blunt about it, when you hear a woman say, "he said he wants his space, but doesn't want to lose me," she's talking about a manwho wants to have his cake and eat it, too. Now, that sounds harsh, doesn't it? Well, I do believe in plain speaking, and hiding the truth from you will not help you.

Every time a woman tells me, "he said he wants his space, but doesn't want to lose me," I wonder whether she realizes what he's actually asking her to do. Does she realize that he is floating the idea that he can keep her as his girlfriend without remaining her boyfriend? Does she realize that he wants to enjoy the benefits of her love while doing none of the work that goes along with it? That he is leaving her, but not doing so in any honest way? That he is, in fact, sneaking out the side door?

Now, this doesn't mean he's a bad person. It could mean that he's going through a particularly bad time in his life, though. If you're dating a divorcing man, you might hear him say this. He doesn't want to be alone, but he doesn't want to take on the responsibility of making a commitment, either.

Or maybe he is under some other source of pressure, one that is causing him to hesitate to make decisions. And so, he says he wants space, but doesn't want to lose you.

That is a far kinder interpretation, however, than is usually warranted. It is too often the case that a man who says he wants space has already left the building. Saying he doesn't want to lose you is a way of giving you false hope and making him feel less guilty.

How do you react?

First, ask a couple of clarifying questions. What exactly is space? Does he want to see other people? Does he want to continue seeing you? Pose these questions, but don't expect to get clear answers.

Second, figure out what you want.

What is the best way to maintain the relationship?

First, ascertain whether there is a relationship. Very often this desire to have space will come along around the third month of dating. The third month is a transitional one. You're moving from simply being two people who date to being seen as a couple. This might be fine with you, for example, but bother him. Suddenly, he finds himself sliding into a "relationship," coupledom, when all he wanted was someone familiar he could date.

Unfortunately, by the time a man says he wants his space, he has alread

Again, what do you do?

Figure out what you want. At least, he is aware of his confusion. Are you aware of yours? If you are certain you want to be in a committed relationship, then you have to accept that this man, at least at this time, cannot give you what you want. Yes, you can probably persuade him to stay, but will not be "getting back together."

You will not be making up the right way. Making up the right way means commitment to the relationship from both sides, not just one.

Short and sweet: Let him go. And let go of the fear that keeps you tied to someone who is pushing you away. Let him go.

And be free to meet the right one, the one with whom you'll experience love the right way.

Love ? I love love love you. (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

People never truly understand one another. After all we are not mind readers. This is why doubt can settle in the minds of people in a relationship. You want to believe your boyfriend loves you but there can sometimes be that little nagging doubt in the back of your mind.

That is a problem a lot of women face, they are unsure of whether or not their boyfriends truly love them or not. They are left asking themselves "Does My Boyfirend Really Love ME" and struggling to come up with an answer.

They do not struggle because their boyfriend may not love them and they are having trouble coming up with ways to say otherwise. They struggle because how do you determine whether or not someone loves you? It is an easy question to ask, not an easy one to answer.

There are four good signs to look for that can tell you whether or not your boyfriend loves you. These are no exact nor will they all apply, but they can be a good place to start when trying to answer this question.

1: Look him in the eyes. A man who loves and respects you will not look away and avert his gaze, he will look you straight in the eye. This is how he conveys you are his equal and that he loves you, if he refuses to look you in the eye when expressing his love it may be because he is lying and would feel bad by looking you in the eye when he said that.

2: Men respect the people they love. Respect is an important aspect of relationships and you earn it as your man falls for you. If he could not respect you he very likely would not have fallen in love with you. Part of respecting someone is being honest and open with them. You do not hide or lie to those you respect so he should be willing to share his thoughts and concerns with you. As well as hear out your own concerns and support you when you make a decision.

3: A man who is in love will always make time. People inherently want to be around things they love, it is just human nature. This holds true with men just as much as women so if your man truly does love you he would want to spend time with you, and as such would make time. If he always has something else going on or constantly comes up with excuses, this may be a sign that he does not love you.

4: He will remember your special day. We all have special and important days, be it anniversary or birthdays. If your man loves you he will remember those days and make sure to acknowledge them as best he can.

Now remember that all men are not the same, they may show some of these signs such as not looking you in the eye or forgetting important dates, but that may not mean they do not love you. Some men may simply be too shy to look you in the eye, or forgetful to remember what the date is.

You know your boyfriend better then I ever could so it is at your discretion whether or not these signs truly apply. But they can prove to be a fairly good guideline to help you answer whether or not your boyfriend loves you.

Related articles

• He Said/She Said: Is It Ever Okay To Hook Up With Your Best Friend's Ex?(hellobeautiful.com)

  ---

• Eight Ways to be a Better Boyfriend(socyberty.com)

  ---

By Peter Chase

Okay, I'll admit. I've been dumped. More than once. More than I'd like to admit, actually. And yes, hurt. Hurt bad. But I have to say that I've grown from the experiences. So, here are some things I've learned from women who dumped me.

Things I've Learned from Women Who Dumped Me #1: It takes two.

When your heartbroken and in pain after a breakup, it's the easiest thing in the world to blame her for your unhappiness. But the truth is that if the relationship was no longer working, you were to some degree responsible. Maybe you did nothing overly wrong -- like cheating on her. Maybe it was something passive, like ignoring her when she wanted to talk to you or dismissing her opinion. Think about it. What went wrong? Find the answers and apply hard-won lessons learned to your next relationship.

Things I've Learned from Women Who Dumped Me #2: Give women their personal space.

Men are always telling women to give them "space." We seem to assume that they don't need or want their personal space, too. Why? Maybe, it's because women like to cuddle and snuggle. They may seem to always be around. That's okay if that's where they want to be. But sometimes, they're there because they're afraid, yes, afraid to be elsewhere. We men can get awfully possessive. We want to keep tabs on where our women are going and what they're going to be doing there. The instinct only gets stronger the man had a woman who cheated on him. Unfortunately, this kind of knee-jerk jealousy and possessiveness will only destroy the relationship. It destroys trust and trust is essential to a relationship. When you invade her personal space, you're telling her that you don't trust her. This can easily lead to the end of the relationship.

Things I've Learned from Women Who Dumped Me #3: You get stronger over time.

When you wake up in the morning and the hurt's so real, you may believe that you will never recover from the breakup. You think the hurt will always be there. But time really does heal. In fact, you will come out of this stronger than you were before, and if you take your lessons learned, a much better man than before.

Things I've Learned from Women Who Dumped Me #4: It's okay if it wasn't meant to be.

Accepting that a relationship wasn't meant to be is a significant step toward healing. If you had started projecting your relationship into the future (envisioning marriage and children) and then your girlfriend left you, see it as a blessing. If she had such doubts, it's better she leave now than later.

Things I've Learned from Women Who Dumped Me #5: Good things don't happen unless you make them happen.

Finally, the last lesson I want to share with you is that you can't control what happened, but you can control to how you react to what happened. If you want good things to happen in the future, you have to make them happen.

That means getting back on the horse. Go out, meet new women. Have some fun. Eventually, you will find another relationship. And, if you have followed the advice in this article about things I've learned from women who dumped me, the relationship will be even better and stronger than the last one.

Dealing with breakup pain, any way that you look at it, is not going to be an easy or enjoyable task. A lot of people incorrectly believe that they will be able to manage their heartbreak, only to find out that carrying a torch for someone after a love affair is a lot like grieving, at least if you look at the relationship as having passed on. When it comes to dealing with a broken intimate relationship, it is important that you look past the pain and find a way to survive even when things seem impossible for the time being.

Relationship breakup puts a lot of people through fear and misery. Some of the people going through these feelings have no one in the world to turn to, and this is why people suffer so hard from heartbreak in the first place. Dealing with breakup pain all by yourself can seem impossible at first, but consider how many people deal with love and loss in their lives and survive to talk about it. You too will be able to get over what feels like a crippling breakup, but only if you are willing to deal with heartbreak pain the right way, and the healthy way for that matter.

So why is the pain from a lost love breakup so difficult? Because when dealing with a breakup, it will seem as if you are the only one who has suffered the kind of pain youre going through. It is important that you continue to try to heal rather than allowing yourself to give up on the situation. Dwelling on the painful split from your lover will not help you, so instead you should work on getting better and moving on, which will allow you to stop dealing with breakup pain and start dealing with moving on and finding someone new, perhaps even someone that has a better dynamic with you.

* Spend time with your friends and let them help you get your mind off your heartbreak.

* Don't dwell on the bad feelings, but focus on the good parts of your life in order to promote healing.

Your friends will probably realize that you're going through something serious, and they will more than likely dedicate themselves to trying to help you through it. If this is the case, don't blow them off, because going out and spending time with your friends and the people that you care about will be extremely helpful when it comes to dealing with breakup pain. Everyone goes through a period where they are dealing with breakup pain, because everyone goes through a breakup. Rather than allow yourself to suffer while dealing with breaking up pain, what you should do is enjoy yourself and work on healing rather than allowing yourself to become stressed out, overwhelmed or depressed by your heartbreak.

If you truly want to get back together with your ex, you have to do a bit of soul searching. You must be totally honest with yourself. You have to decide if you and your ex get back together it will truly make you happy, and you won't wind up down the same road that caused the breakup in the first place. It's always easy after a breakup to only think of the good times. It's important that you try to be completely objective and think of both the good and bad times.

Few relationships that are not worth of saving. If you and your ex spent more time fighting than doing something good and fun, then perhaps you should consider moving on. If they were physically or verbally abusive, it probably wasn't a healthy relationship. If they were mentally unstable, you probably are better off without them. If the relationship overall was a good one, and they weren't abusive, and they were of sound mind, the following should help you and your ex get back together.

Pestering and pushing your ex is a poor idea. If you try to constantly get in touch with your ex; whether its by phone, email, text message, or stalking, you're doing more harm than good. They will see this as a sign of desperation. This could push them further away than bring them closer to you.

Don't argue, beg, or plead with your ex about your past relationship. It's easy when you and your mind are all alone. Your mind manifests all sorts of wrongs that you may have done. Even when your ex broke up with you they may have gave you reasons why. Now, you're probably beating yourself up over them. You probably wish you had never done those things. The past is the past. This is the present.

Get it into your mind that the relationship is over, at least for now. You can't go back in time, no matter how much you wish you could. Concentrate on what is going on now. The only thing worse than obsessively contacting your ex is to beg or plead with them. Make promises how you'll change, etc. This won't help you and your ex get back together at all.

If you back off, give them some time, and live your life, you'll be doing yourself a big favor in more ways than one. You'll probably become more desirable to your ex, because you're allowing them to think about you and miss you. You'll also be helping yourself to live a happier, more fulfilling life too.

Relationships are about trust and communication, but over time that can erode away. You may start out loving one another but those feelings can fade over time. You get bored with each other and want to experience new things. This is why most affairs occur.

There are ways you can find out if you have a Cheating boyfriend. They are not exact or set in stone, but they can be fairly decent guidelines to help you determine whether or not your man is going to someone else for his needs.

1: If he comes home late this could be a sign he is cheating. Now obviously it is not if he comes home late once in a while. There are a lot of reasons he may be late, from working late to having to deal with traffic. This only becomes an issue if he does it consistently.

Another thing you can look for is what he does when he gets home. If he goes straight to the shower, this can be a tell tale sign he is having an affair. If he is cheating on you he will want to hide the evidence, which is why he goes straight to the shower. He will probably avoid you at all costs as he heads for the shower.

2: If your romantic life has dwindled out, this can be another sign. It is not concrete evidence that he is cheating, as there can be other reasons why your love life is suffering. If this is the only sign you recognize you may want to simply talk with him about it as there is probably another reason why this is happening.

3: If he makes excuses for not spending time with you or generally just avoids you. If he is having an affair he will want to spend time with that person over you. So if he always comes up with an excuse when you try to do something with him, this can be a pretty big red flag.

Something you should keep in mind if you suspect you have a Cheating boyfriend is to play dumb. You can not prove anything if he is trying to hide it, so to catch him you need to be smarter then he is. If you pretend to be clueless and not suspicious at all, he will lower his guard.

You can lull him into a false sense of security by doing this, he will think he is some sly devil who is getting off scott free but in reality he is falling right into your trap. Eventually he will make a mistake, leaving a certain text message on his phone or allowing you to answer a call from his mistress.

Once you get the evidence you need you can confront him on it and take the course of action you deem appropriate. Whether you dump him or give him another chance is up to you. Just keep in mind that not all men cheat, and you would not want to wrongly accuse your boyfriend of being a cheater. So make sure you get solid evidence before making a move, otherwise it might be you who ruins your relationship.

Men leave relationships or find themselves willing to commit for several reasons. Their partners are often left feeling bewildered and betrayed. "Why did he leave me?" is often the first question asked. Unfortunately, it's a question that many men themselves cannot answer.

Part 1

First, let's define the word "leave." For most, it means that a man has physically left the relationship. He makes it clear that he does not want to see you again, at least for a significant period of time. But in many cases, "leave" means that he's physically present but emotionally unavailable. Both forms of absence are very painful for the one in love and left behind.

Some men are haunted by the ghost of relationships past. That old love just suddenly seems like the One That Got Away. No one will ever be so perfect -- they think. Why would someone willing choose to idealize a past love than treasure a present one? Well, it can feel easier and safer to cling to the past than risk failure in the present. These men are not really available. They make love you, but they'll have a hard time committing to you because you're just not quite perfect. There's someone else out there that they have to stay free for, some who is perfect. If you press these men to make a commitment, they'll calmly tell you that they've gone as far as they can with you, but don't really see themselves as staying with you forever. So if your love was one of these guys, then the reason he left you is because you asked him to make a choice -- between you and his fantasy. Guess which one won?

Some men, however, don't cling to an prettified image of an old love -- they cling to the horror of an old one. Richard M., an otherwise rational and very successful entrepreneur, refuses to marry his girlfriend of eleven years, he says, because of memories of his horrific divorce. He's physically present but emotionally unavailable. Oddly enough, these men can sometimes be made to see danger of their obsession with the past.

Other men leave seeking excitement and challenge. Being with someone who loves them becomes boring and flat. After years of dating beautiful women who adored him but for whom he felt little, Frederick, a handsome, articulate architect, in his late thirties, finally fell in love. It was a tumultuous situation, however.

"I was in love with Fern for three years," he said. "But I left her three times and each time she came back, wanting me again. No other woman had done that before. Fern was very neurotic. I guess thats what attracted me."

Some men find the lack of stability in a woman to be challenging, exciting and erotic. The unpredictability creates a situation where there is a constant sense of danger and threat of loss. This keeps these men constantly on the alert, so things never become routine. Excitement is confused with passion. There is a sense that, because of the turmoil, they are finally alive. After awhile it usually becomes too much.

"I finally left Fern and never went back," Frederick said. "It became too exhausting in the long run."

When men are attracted to neurotic women, it is interesting to note that these men are often attracting a partner who is expressing what he is also going through inside. She may be acting out what he is feeling and not able to express. When he finally becomes angry with the woman, he is really angry with himself. What we cannot accept in another is always something we haven't been able to accept in ourselves.

Other stresses also cause men to leave relationships. When a man is unhappy at his job, or when he feels pressured to commit, before he is ready, old dreams that havent been fulfilled will come up to haunt him. He then will begin to feel that this is the time to live out these dreams. These men often feel justified in abruptly leave unsatisfying relationships in search of their fantasies and dreams.

When Renee, handsome, strong, the successful owner of a well know beauty salon left for a new woman he said, "No one leaves if they're happy. After awhile you just begin to feel time is running out and you get tired of the bad stuff. You feel you don't need it anymore. You paid your dues. You're tired."

When asked why he felt the attraction to a different woman, he said, "Part of it is just plain beauty. But also she was much younger. I like that. A young woman looks up to a guy because he's older and can do all these things for her, and he adores her because she's young, pretty and makes him look good and feel good and proud."

Implicit in this is a deep need men have to be looked up to, valued, respected and recognized, not only by his peers, but by the woman he's with. Especially at a time in life when a man's sense of himself is wavering, it is extremely uplifting to have a woman who looks up to him and what he has achieved. Unfortunately, at this point, some wives of long standing can only see their mans deficits. If they then remind him of his failings constantly, it's often more than his ego can bear.

Though there are many more factors contributing to men leaving relationships, a common theme appears through all of them. The men are not necessarily responding to the woman they are leaving, but to their own inner needs, conflicts and dreams. Often they experience the woman in their lives simply as a part of their own sense of self. It is not the woman herself who necessarily causes the man to leave, but the man's feelings about himself, his own inner fantasy and quest.

If you are a man and worried that the special woman in your life is going to leave you, then you want to read the following information. The question of why women leave men goes back to the dawn of relationships. A lot of guys think they have the answer, but you may be surprised.

The longer a relationship lasts, the more time there is for little things to pile up. A casual remark here, a hurt feeling there, or the occasional funny look all have their way of accumulating. Your girlfriend or wife may not even comment on any of these things when they happen, but you can be sure that they are remembering them. It's like a bank account that keeps a running tally.

Every time you do something to offend her or hurt her feelings, it's like a debit to her account; doing something she likes counts as a credit. The problem is that it takes several credits to weaken a debit, but it's nearly impossible to wipe out all of the debits. The best you can hope for is to keep making enough deposits for her to not bring up the debits.

That alone can be a problem, but that's not the only reason why women leave men. The other main cause is that men don't understand women. We think we know what they want, but that thinking is often faulty and only leads to more problems. Most men are taught that women are emotionally needy and must have a man around to take care of her. There is nothing wrong with wanting to support your family, but you need to be careful that you don't treat your girlfriend or wife as though she were dependent on you.

Roles are a major factor in any relationship. You need to realize that she is your partner. She is not an object or your mother. Again, there is nothing wrong with taking care of each other, but you need to make sure that you aren't crossing the line into other roles. You also have to be careful that you're not taking her for granted.

There is one more thing that you can do to help prevent her from leaving you. What is it? Communication. Well, to be more precise: effective communication. When you think about it, even an argument is a form of communication, it's just that it's negative. You need to learn how to communicate with your wife or girlfriend, and the best way to start is to learn how to listen. This is often difficult for guys to do, but you have to learn how if you really love her and want her to stay.

It should be noted that all of these things are generalizations. All women are different, and that uniqueness should be celebrated. It can be tricky trying to do things right, but as long as you're doing it for the right reasons; it will happen. Keep working at being a better man for her and then you won't have to worry about why women leave men.

All relationships go through many stages, but it's not a good idea to rush into them. This is especially true if your boyfriend and you are thinking of moving on to the next level. The "next level" could refer to moving in together, an engagement, or any other serious step forward. Before you do any of these things, there are some serious questions to ask your boyfriend first.

There are a lot of things that should be discussed at some point, and they become even more important as the two of you get more serious about each other. While the idea that "opposites attract" is popular, the truth is that the more a couple has in common, the more likely they are to stay together. But the only way to find out how he feels about the bigger issues is to ask him. With that in mind, here are some topics for serious questions to ask your boyfriend.

1. What are each of your roles within the relationship? This is an excellent question to ask as it can reveal how each of you were brought up, how you see things now, and what your future may be like. Just the idea of "roles" is repulsive to some people, while others think they should be well-defined. That doesn't mean they are right or wrong, but it is better to know how he feels about things in this regard. You won't agree on everything, and when this happens you need to decide if you will be able to get past the differences.

2. How will you handle money? It is often said that disagreements about money is one of the leading causes of divorce. Whether that's true or not, it's a good idea to work this out sooner rather than later. Will you pool all of your money and pay bills and buy things with it? Will you pool some of your money? None of it? Who will pay bills? Will you have separate bank accounts? Are either of you in debt now? These are only a few of the money-related questions you should ask before you get too deep into your relationship.

3. Will you have children? You may not have to ask this question in the earliest stages of the relationship, but it is something that will eventually need to be discussed. If you both want kids, are you both able to have them? Is adoption an option? How many children do you want? How soon do you want them?

This list isn't meant to cover everything you should talk about, but it does cover the bigger issues, and can open the door for a deeper discussion. These serious questions to ask your boyfriend may not always be the easiest to discuss, but they are vital if you want the relationship to move forward.