Should I stay or should I go? The Clash penned the song in 1981, but women have been pondering this question for centuries. Unfortunately, no woman I know has figured out an answer.

The trouble is, the old adage is true: good girls like bad boys and there is a little bit of a masochist in all of us. This means we are often left clinging on to a shell of a relationship that should have ended long ago. So how do you know when to stay or when to go? Here are the top three situations, which are guaranteed to leave you sobbing into your sauvignon blanc.

The first is the guy who refuses to commit. He may text you all week and meet you every weekend but when this same pattern continues for months without any progression, it's time to get worried. If a guy is into you, he is going to want more than to meet up in Halo on a Saturday night. He will want to meet your friends, stay in bed for hours on a Sunday morning and generally, just spend time with you. Mr Commitment Phobe on the other hand usually has a few excuses up his sleeve, like he was hurt before or has trust issues and wants to take things slow. In most cases, this usually translates to ‘I'm just not really that into you’. He will keep it going because he is suiting himself. You will keep thinking it will change but it will inevitably end in disaster.

Another common reason for a visit to heartbreak hotel is that nice-but-not-really-that-exciting man who you seem to have accidentally gotten into a relationship with. He treats you well and you are very fond of him, but the spark just isn't there. You don’t want to hurt his feelings by breaking up with him, but the longer it goes on, the harder it gets. You start being mean out of frustration and then beat yourself up about it while still hoping that one day by magic you might find Mr Nice irresistible. Word to the wise, if it hasn't happened after a month, it is pretty safe to say that it won’t happen full stop.

Finally, the worst of the bunch, Mr Mixed Signals. This guy will impress from the beginning, but beware, as soon as you start to get attached, he starts to cool his jets. After spending weeks waiting for those text messages and wondering what you did wrong, you will decide that it's time to move on...and as soon as you do, he comes back with a vengeance using all those traits that made you like him in the first place. This cycle can continue indefinitely, causing normally calm and collected women to turn into emotional, self-doubting wrecks.

So how do you avoid these dating landmines? Short of a UN treaty banning explosive behaviour, there is no get-out-of-jail-free card. You could just stay out of the battlefield, but where’s the fun in that? A general rule of thumb to live by is to give second chances, but not thirds. Break free and concentrate on finding Mr Perfect. He's gotta be out there somewhere, right?