Photo: Anete Lusina

What can strengthen relationships?

8 Ways to Strengthen Your Relationship Be Friends. Any healthy relationship must be based on a solid underlying friendship. ... Stay Connected. "Couples need to spend a lot of time with each other," advises David Kaplan, Ph. ... Get Physical. ... Celebrate Each Other. ... Fight Well. ... Take a Class. ... Listen Carefully. ... Maintain Your Sense of Self.

gaiam.com - 8 Ways to Strengthen Your Relationship - Gaiam

Can you feel if someone is attracted to you?

Can you feel when someone is attracted to you? Yes. When someone feels you are an attractive person, some things come up between you that aren't...

Last updated Sep 25, 2019

How do you know if a relationship is right?

You're in the right relationship if you feel your partner is there for you when you need support, and that the relationship is overall a great...

Last updated Jul 12, 2022

Promotion

8 Ways to Strengthen Your Relationship

Author: Heather Prouty

Love is perhaps our most powerful emotion, and the need to be in a loving relationship may be one of the strongest needs we have. Being in an intimate relationship makes us feel connected, not only to our partner, but also to the world at large. When our hearts are filled with love, we feel profoundly content and satisfied. We become more patient, more empathetic, kinder, gentler. But personal intimacy doesn't merely affect our emotional well-being. According to numerous scientific studies, the power of love directly affects our physical health, too, by boosting our immune system, improving our cardiovascular functioning, and increasing our life expectancy. "Love and intimacy are at the root of what makes us sick and what makes us well," says Dean Ornish, M.D., who explores the connections between love and health in his book Love & Survival (HarperCollins). "When you look at the scientific data, the need for love and intimacy is as important and basic as eating, breathing, and sleeping." On Valentine's Day, we celebrate our love for each other over candlelit dinners or through exchanges of chocolates, flowers, and slinky lingerie. But a box of bonbons only lasts so long. Experts agree that the key to a vitalized, long-lasting relationship is what you and your partner do the other 364 days of the year. Indeed, keeping your love alive requires continual time and effort. Following are eight steps you can take to keep the flame burning.

Be Friends

Any healthy relationship must be based on a solid underlying friendship. Remember to treat your partner with the same kindness, respect, and appreciation as you would a close friend. Support, listen to, and laugh with each other. Don't allow yourselves to be rude or disrespectful.

Stay Connected

"Couples need to spend a lot of time with each other," advises David Kaplan, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Counselor Education and Rehabilitation programs at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas. "There is no substitute for quantity of time." Kaplan encourages couples to take a half-day a week to go out on a date. In addition, devote at least 15 minutes of your day to meaningful, one-on-one conversation — no television or kids allowed.

Get Physical

Physical intimacy is a natural — and healthy — extension of a relationship. Our best sexual intentions are often put to rest, however, as we collapse into an exhausted heap at the end of the day. Instead, you and your partner need to consciously commit to turning up the heat. Leave the dishes in the sink, turn the laptop off, and just do it! Set the mood with the sensual music, and light some calming aromatherapy candles or incense. Learn to communicate your loving energy through touch.

Celebrate Each Other

Why is it important for couples to go to bed together?

Bedtime for couples is crucial for cuddling and connecting intimately on an emotional and physical level. One research study found that most people...

Last updated Aug 31, 2022

How long does the average hookup last?

Here's How Long Most People Last During Sex The sex toy retailer Lovehoney (motto: "The Sexual Happiness People") surveyed 4,400 of its customers...

Last updated Nov 23, 2019

Promotion

Saying something kind and affectionate to your partner should be a daily habit. The expression of loving thoughts nourishes your relationship by helping you both remember what it is you treasure about each other. Let your partner know how much you appreciate him or her, and be generous with compliments and expressions of affection.

Fight Well

Since disagreements and arguments are inevitable, what's important is not whether you fight but how you fight. When disagreements surface, keep them short. "No more than 10 minutes," says Kaplan. "After ten minutes, it gets nasty and repetitive." Also, keep boundaries on the subject matter. Don't dredge up issues from last week or last month-keep your dispute focused on the matter at hand.

Take a Class

Feeling like your relationship could benefit from professional advice? Why not take a class on communications skills, attend a seminar on loving kindness, or read a book on relationship-building together? Your efforts will likely spark important discussions about your relationship and, ultimately, enhance it. A good starting point is Phillip McGraw, Ph.D.'s straight-talking tome Relationship Rescue (Hyperion, 2000).

Listen Carefully

Being an attentive listener lets your partner know that his or her thoughts and feelings are important to you. Moreover, good listening encourages partners "to open up and be willing to share," says Richard and Kristine Carlson, authors of Don't Sweat the Small Things in Love (Hyperion, 1999). The secret, say the Carlsons, is not just to "hear" what your partner is saying, but to be truly "present," having a heartfelt desire to understand what is being said and listening without being judgmental.

Maintain Your Sense of Self

Partners must learn to balance their needs as individuals with their needs as a couple. "On one hand, you don't want people to be too far apart emotionally. If you don't spend time together, you become disengaged emotionally," says Kaplan. "The other end of the spectrum is couples that become too dependent on each other and their individual identity gets lost." Ideally, the two of you should be close enough to have intimacy, yet "far enough away to have an individual identity," says Kaplan. Don't be afraid to develop some friendships and interests separate from your partner.

gaiam.com - 8 Ways to Strengthen Your Relationship - Gaiam

What are intimate Questions to ask a guy?

The Best Questions for Intimacy and Connection With Your Partner What are three qualities about me that you were first attracted to? What's a...

Last updated Feb 18, 2022

Will a lost contact eventually come out?

Your eye should expel the lens eventually, but if you're still freaking out, call your eye doc. Apr 13, 2016

Last updated Jun 26, 2018

Promotion

How much does 100k Instagram followers make?

For instance, less famous influencers with up to 10k followers may set their rates at $25-$50 per post, an established one with 30-80k followers...

Last updated Jul 17, 2022

Promotion

What is the strongest love language?

quality time The love language preferred by the most people is quality time: 38% rank this as their top love language. Women — those under 45 (41%)...

Last updated Apr 18, 2019