Well yesterday I was involved in an agument as to whether there is a difference between relationship and commitment. For me I view relationship as a process that might lead to a commitment. I was however shocked to realise that most ladies feel when that are in a relationship, commitment authomatically comes with it.

o yes there is

Relationship to me is d 1st hurdle b crossed by partners if they are satisfied with each then commitment will set in.

Of course there is,
You see a commitment can be the prerequesite to an excellent relationship.
Relationships can be of different kinds. There are open relationships, Friendly relationships, sexual relationships, etc etc
However, with the big C, it is more of a serious thing. It is the prelude to many marriages,
Far too many times peoples (especially Ladies) assume that as long as they are in a relationship that somehow commitment automatically becomes a permanent factor. Many by assuming such a fate end up with broken hearts, swollen eyes and psychologically maimed.

A lot, u can be in a relationship and not be committed!

There is absolute different btw the R & C, u may be in relationship without any commitment but there is no commitment without relationship

ple do tell the ladies. they should get it straight up that a real wide gap exist between the R and the C.

Commitmentphobia

Commitmentphobia is often most strongly apparent in romantic life. Generally, commitmentphobic people claim that they are eager to find a lasting romantic attachment and get married, yet they fail to find appropriate partners and maintain longlasting connections. Ironically, in these romantic relationships, the commitmentphobic partner craves what he/she fears most: love and connection. This paradoxical craving for a frightening reality leads to a confusing and destructive pattern of seduction and rejection. The results are emotionally devastating.

The key to understanding commitmentphobia is recognizing that such behavior is rooted in fear—fear of lost options or fear of making poor decisions. The commitmentphobic mind sees decisions as permanent, opening the possibility of being caged or trapped forever with no means of escape. Commitmentphobia is a real disabling fear, that can be manifest in many areas of life, including career, home ownership, or even shoe shopping. This fear can make simple everyday decisions into a tremendous burden.

To assuage their anxieties, many commitmentphobics become fantasy-driven, using their active imaginations to fill in for the lack of emotional security and closeness in their lives. Of course, these fantasies pose additional problems because no potential partner or job can ever live up to the fantasy. Commitmentphobics are also prone to self-destructive behavior, such as walking out on partners or jobs without notice, leaving themselves and the people in their lives in untenable situations.

One potentially misleading aspect of commitmentphobic behavior is that the partner who is actively running away from commitment is the only one with a problem. In fact, commitmentphobic behavior includes "settling" for inappropriate partners, pursuing unattainable partners, and engaging in instant relationship mergers as well as fleeing from what might have appeared to be a stable romance. Any persistent behavior that actively prevents a person from making a commitment or allows a person to make excuses for not having made a commitment can be considered commitmentphobic.

Authors Carter and Sokol handle this circumstance by describing "active" commitmentphobia, which is most strongly characterized by running away from relationships, and "passive" commitmentphobia, which is most strongly characterized by long suffering devotion to an active partner who is running away, longing for a partner who has run away, and fantasy reconciliation scenarios.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_commitment

very old thread my friend