A relationship can influence one’s life more than we can imagine. Being completely ourselves and sharing our life with someone else makes us vulnerable, but ultimately that’s the beauty of love. Trust and communication are key in achieving that harmony that allows you and your other half to grow together as a couple and as individuals. Healthy relationships involve fights as well, but they shouldn’t occur more often than happy moments.
Everybody should be able to tell the difference between healthy and toxic relationships. The latter ones are very often abusive, mentally, or even worse, physically, and the victim should find a way out as soon as possible. Healthy relationships however involve love, trust, respect, friendship, and the list can go on. Sometimes, even the best relationships go through ups and downs, but there are ways to overcome them. So, how to maintain a healthy relationship? For help, please contact Dr Prabhjot Gill.
Be honest with your partner. Tell him or her how you feel, and ask in return about their feelings. You might both have the same concerns about your relationship; after all, you’re together because you have things in common. Share your thoughts openly and with calm. You might solve your problems faster than you’ve expected.
It’s not always your fault, but neither his nor hers. If your partner became a little distant lately, don’t jump immediately to conclusions. Your partner is only human as well, experiencing life with the same ups and downs as you. Maybe it’s not even your fault, maybe it’s just a stressful period that will pass, but your partner feels too overwhelmed to talk to anyone about it, not even to you. Ask if everything is alright, if they feel good, or if you could help with anything. Don’t revenge on them by becoming cold in return. What’s the point? It’s you and your other half against the problem, not you against him or her.
If you’ve had some doubts about your relationship lately and you’ve finally confessed your worries to your partner, it’s time to listen and understand carefully. Don’t rush your partner with many other questions or accusing them of past mistakes. Take time to solve your misunderstandings together, because after all, many couples break up because of them and no other real problems.
If your relationship doesn’t feel as it did in the beginning, try to spend more time together and alter the activities you do. Make your relationship fun again by trying new things.
Your partner knows you love them, but maybe they want to hear it more often. Tell them how they’ve changed your life. Try not to overdo it with love confessions, though. Just speak from your heart.
Let them know that you still find them attractive if you haven’t said it for a while. It might change some things in your relationship.
Fights are very common in healthy relationships, as long as you understand the term healthy. Telling your partner what annoys or upsets you in your relationship and allowing him or her to do the same is part of a healthy relationship. Communication is key. But raising your voice or applying any type of emotional blackmail goes into the category of toxic relationships. Find a way with your partner to keep your fights friendly, even if you disagree with each other.
Emotional intimacy is different than the physical one, although they co-exist and intertwine. However, emotional intimacy has to do with sharing your most personal thoughts with your partner, having your jokes, understanding each other, sharing stories, traumas, fears, all that stuff. So connect like that as much as possible.
This one is obvious. Too much or too little physical intimacy can cause problems in relationships. Also, this aspect of your relationship should come naturally. Your chemistry should decide the frequency.
Conclusion
Relationships are hard and constant work and it takes two to achieve that beautiful harmony. Once that one of you stops trying or waits for the other to give more in the relationship, you can expect your relationship to fall apart at a certain point. The good news is, as long as you love each other, you can make it work.
“Dr Prabhjot Gill
MBBS MRCGP(2016)”