Healthy relationships with your partner and family members can enhance your life and make everyone feel good about themselves. They don’t just happen though; healthy relationships take time to build and need work to keep them healthy. The more positive effort you put into a relationship, the healthier it should be.
People in healthy relationships love and support each other. They help each other practically as well as emotionally. They are there for each other in the good times and the bad times.
Maintaining them is important. It takes time and commitment. No relationship is perfect, but it is important that it brings you more happiness than stress. Here are tips for a healthy relationship.
Be clear about what you want
Assertive communication helps make your point more clearly than passive or aggressive communication. Assertive communication expresses your point of view in a way that is clear and direct, while still respecting others. Communicating in an assertive manner can help you to: minimize conflict.
Try using ‘I’ statements instead of accusatory You’ statements. For example, say “I really feel bad when you don’t clean up the dishes” rather than “You never help me in the kitchen”.
Say sorry when you’re wrong
This is really important as it helps heal relationship breakdowns that inevitably occur.
Be affectionate and show appreciation
Relationships can become routine after a while. Make special time together and continue to show your affection. Even just sitting together on the couch after work helps show intimacy.
Make the relationship a priority
It can be hard to balance relationships, work, family and friends. You can help establish a work-life balance by setting limits at work and learning to say no – this will ensure you make time for your relationship.
Develop shared interests
Finding hobbies you both enjoy allows you to spend time together. This could be as simple as going out to the place you both like together or taking up a new sport.
Work on feeling good about yourself
Feeling good about yourself allows you to give the best to your relationships. Taking time to do what you enjoy can help.
Healthy friendships maintain your happiness and self-esteem, so it is important that you stay in touch with your friends when you are in a relationship.
One of the warning signs of an unhealthy relationship is when you quit activities you used to enjoy because of your partner.
Find solutions that work for both of you
Conflict is a part of any relationship. It is essential that you both respect and accept your differences and similarities. Finding solutions that work for both of you will probably require compromise at different times. Learning to talk and discuss the root of the issue together and promise to improve can build deeper trust and intimacy.
Make plans for the future
By making plans for the future together, you both show you are in the relationship for the long term.
by Barndith Oum