How to Navigate Unmet Needs in Polyamory

Move toward happier relationships with the 4 Levels of Acceptance.

I’ve written a lot about honoring your limits and boundaries for happy, healthy poly relationships, but recently my conversations have turned toward the other side of the equation: unmet needs in polyamory.

10 Boundaries for Happy Polyamory

Online advice about addressing unmet or mismatched needs in polyamory typically boils your options down to:

1. find workable compromises
2. find additional partners
3. meet your own needs
4. end your relationship(s)

Yet, compromises can’t always be found, other people aren’t needs dispensers, our need for loving connections with others is valid, and not all unmet needs warrant ending otherwise great relationships.

A lot of people, especially those who have complex needs to consider before risking or ending a relationship or marriage, wind up stuck in a miserable limbo: feeling simultaneously grateful for all the needs a relationship…