Healthy relationships are different for everyone; and different people have different needs around communication, sex, affection, alone time etc. so it’s important to find out what you want and what works in your relationship. Here, we look at a few tips that can help you maintain a healthy relationship.
Be Open About Your Needs
Being open about each of your needs is one great tip in maintaining a healthy relationship, whether this is your sexual needs, emotional needs, or anything in between.
Sex is always a difficult area of any relationship, sometimes you may have a low sex drive while your partners is high, maybe you’re both not feeling in the mood, and it’s been a few weeks since anything fun happened between the sheets. It’s important to communicate if your needs are not being met so that you can compromise and come up with a solution. Whether you want to sit and browse sex toys in an online sex shop and bring a bit of experimentation into your life, or whether you just need a break to find yourself again, being open will help you to move forward in your healthy relationship.
If your needs are simply that you need more from them emotionally, your other half will never know unless you’re open about it. Sometimes all you need is a conversation to set you back off on the right foot.
Communicate Openly
Following on nicely from the first point, open communication is also an important tip for a healthy relationship. You should feel comfortable talking about any issues that come up, from everyday life such as stress with your friends or work life to more serious issues like financial concerns and bad health. Even if both partners may have different opinions on a matter, it’s still important to listen and talk without judgement and try and understand each perspective.
By communicating about feelings and issues regularly, you create an open and safe space within your relationship that is healthy for both (or all) partners.
Trust Your Person
By communicating and being open about your needs, you will develop trust and honesty. Trust is more than believing your partner won’t cheat on you, it’s also the belief that they will keep you safe and make you feel comfortable and won’t tell your secrets to others. It’s trust that they won’t hurt you physically or emotionally and have your best interests in mind.
As much as you should trust your partner, it’s important for your partner to have the same level of trust in you. By being open and honest in your relationship, you create a trustworthy and healthy relationship.
Takeaway
Communication is key when it comes to keeping relationships healthy. Without communication, you can lack trust and not get the fulfilment you’re looking for from your relationship. Be open about your needs, whether that’s physical, emotional, sexual or anything in between, make sure your partner knows. If things go wrong or if there’s issues to address, address them! Make a space in your relationship where you can discuss important issues without judgement, and this will leave you with the trust you need to maintain a long and healthy relationship.
