What makes a healthy relationship?
Every relationship is distinct, and individuals come together for various reasons. However, the majority of healthy couples have key characteristics. Knowing these fundamental concepts may help maintain your relationship interesting, engaging, and exciting regardless of the goals or obstacles you face together.
You have a deep emotional connection with each other. You both make the other feel loved and fulfilled emotionally. There is a difference between being loved and feeling loved. When you feel loved, you feel welcomed and cherished by your spouse, as if someone understands you. Some relationships become locked in peaceful cohabitation without the parties emotionally engaging with one other. While the marriage may appear stable on the surface, a lack of continual commitment and emotional connection increases the distance between two individuals.
You are not frightened of (civil) disagreement. Some couples discuss their disagreements discreetly, while others may raise their voices and argue vehemently. The secret to a good relationship, though, is not to be afraid of dispute. You must feel comfortable communicating your concerns without fear of reprisal, and you must be able to resolve conflicts without shame, degradation, or insistence on being right.
Falling In Love Vs. Staying In Love
Most individuals believe that falling in love happens. Staying in love—or retaining that "falling in love" experience—requires dedication and hard effort. However, given the benefits, it is definitely worth the effort. A solid, safe romantic relationship may be a constant source of support and satisfaction in your life, both in good and bad times, boosting all elements of your well-being. You may develop a meaningful relationship that lasts—even for a lifetime—by making efforts now to maintain or revive your falling in love experience.
Many couples concentrate on their relationship only when facing particular, inevitable challenges. They frequently return their attention to their work, children, or other hobbies once the difficulties have been handled. On the other hand, romantic relationships need continual attention and commitment for love to thrive. And detecting and resolving a little issue in your relationship now may frequently help avoid it escalating into a much larger one later on.
The following suggestions might assist you in preserving the falling in love sensation and maintaining the health of your romantic connection.
Spend Quality Time Face To Face
You fall in love while staring at one other and listening to each other. If you properly continue to look and listen with the same attentiveness, you will sustain the falling-in-love experience in the long run. You undoubtedly have wonderful recollections of the first time you dated your loved one. Everything felt fresh and wonderful, and you probably spent hours conversing or brainstorming new, interesting things to try. However, as time passes, the pressures of the job, family, other obligations, and the desire we all have for alone time can make it more difficult to spend time together.
Many couples discover that face-to-face interaction in their early dating days has progressively been replaced by rushed texts, emails, and instant conversations. While digital communication is properly useful for some things, it does not positively influence your brain and nervous system as face-to-face conversation. For example, sending a text or voice message to your spouse that says "I love you" is wonderful, but if you have the opportunity to sit down with them, they will still believe you don't understand or respect them. And as a pair, you'll become more estranged or distant.
Stay Connected Through Communication
A healthy relationship is built on effective communication. You feel comfortable and happy when you have a positive emotional connection with your companion. When individuals stop speaking well, they stop interacting effectively, and transition or stress can exacerbate the distance. It may appear basic, but as long as you communicate, you can typically work through any issues you're having.
Keep Physical Intimacy Alive
Touch is a great component of human existence. Infant studies have demonstrated the necessity of frequent, loving interaction for brain development. And the advantages do not stop with children. For example, affectionate touch raises oxytocin levels in the body, a hormone that impacts bonding and attachment.
While sex is frequently the foundation of a committed relationship, it should not be the primary form of physical closeness. Touch that is frequent and affectionate—holding hands, embracing, kissing—is also essential.
In Your Relationship, Learn To Give And Take
If you expect to get your way in a relationship 100 percent of the time, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Compromise is the foundation of healthy partnerships. However, it takes effort on the side of each individual to ensure a fair transaction.
Understanding what is important to your spouse may go a long way toward fostering goodwill and a climate of compromise.
It won't be easy to find a compromise if you approach your spouse with the mindset that things must be done your way or else. This attitude might result from not having your needs addressed when you were younger, or it can be the result of years of collected animosity in the relationship reaching a boiling point. It's OK to be adamant about something, but your spouse needs to be heard as well. Respect the other person and their point of view.