How to Know What a Healthy Relationship Is
Before getting involved with someone in a serious way, it can help to understand what constitutes a healthy, fulfilling and strong relationship. It is very common for people to become trapped in toxic relationship situations simply because they have never been exposed to a relationship that is solid and functional. In your pursuit of romantic happiness, learn how to identify the factors that can drive a relationship toward long-term success.
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Instructions
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Understand that honesty and direct communication are driving forces behind strong relationships. A relationship that doesn't have any truth or honesty doesn't have a leg to stand on. Openness is key to establishing a connection. Without honesty, a relationship can suffer from misunderstandings and doubt, both of which are common triggers for fighting, arguing and growing apart.
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Know that a relationship is supposed to make you feel positively. In an ideal relationship, two people need to bring out the best in each other. If a relationship can make a person feel like he has the strength to conquer the world and achieve anything that he wants, it is because he has a sturdy support system from his partner.
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Realize that no relationship can work without respect. A healthy relationship is based on mutual respect. Both partners need to display a sense of respect toward each other. From consideration of the other person's feelings and wants to taking the other person's career and aspirations seriously, respect shows up in many different ways.
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Identify that affection and intimacy are vital components to relationship success. To nurture a relationship, a couple needs to have a bond and sense of closeness. Healthy and regular physical intimacy can achieve that, as well as other forms of affection, such as patting the back, hugging, cuddling, light kisses and holding hands.
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Learn that a strong relationship leaves room for independence. One sign of a relationship that is toxic and controlling is codependency or lack of freedom. If a couple feels stifled by one another or one person exhibits total control over the other, it can bring upon repressed hostility and suffocation. In a relationship that is healthy, both people are encouraged to have their own lives, from friends and interests to career.
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Know that encouragement is necessary. A couple needs to be supportive of each other, with a genuine desire to see the other person succeed. Relationships leave no room for jealousy or undermining. An authentic teamwork attitude can give a relationship the power to last a long time.
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Tips & Warnings
A healthy relationship is one where both people set aside time for each other. No matter how busy a couple is, they need to make the time in their schedule to be together.
References
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