Relationships can take many different forms. But a relationship should support and nurture us whether it’s romantic, platonic, or family. Our mental health and general well-being can be significantly improved by having healthy connections. However, building wholesome connections requires work and patience. Let’s examine some strategies for establishing and preserving wholesome connections in your life.
How should a healthy partnership be structured?
While some healthy relationships are easy to maintain, others need more effort. Because we frequently have higher expectations of one another than in other relationships, it usually requires more work to establish and sustain a successful love connection. The following characteristics of a good relationship:
Tempo
beginning and moving forward at a stress-free, healthy pace. Both sides should be in agreement and there shouldn’t be any pressure to move more quickly or to be “closer” than you already are.
Have faith
A good deal of trust. In exchange for you respecting their privacy and limits, your spouse, friend, coworker, or family member should also respect yours.
Integrity and Deference
Disagreements are handled maturely rather than being bottled up in an attempt “to keep the peace,” and no one controls knowledge by lying or omitting information. You are considerate of one another’s needs as well as those of your friends, family, and personal space.
Generosity
In addition to treating each other with compassion and real enjoyment of spending time together, you also sincerely worry about each other’s safety and desire what’s best for each other.
Comparing Equity and Equality
The idea of equality is that partners should always put in equal amounts of effort and take on equal responsibilities. Though this ideal is significant, it doesn’t always take into account the difficulties in real life that might affect people both inside and outside of relationships. Everybody must put in the same amount of effort according to equality, regardless of the resources and skills that others may possess. On the other hand, equity permits reasonable expectations for each person’s contribution because it recognises that not everyone has the same capacity and resources. This is crucial for partnerships in which one or more partners manage responsibilities differently because of a handicap, are neurodivergent, or are in another situation that could influence their capacity to do so. This idea is crucial for long-term partnerships as well.
What is the best way to begin forming wholesome bonds?
Building healthy relationships requires effort and understanding; it would be fantastic if we just woke up and knew exactly what to do. Before starting any kind of relationship, it’s crucial to recognise your personal needs. To achieve this, you must first identify what you need and want from a relationship (friendship, romantic, intimate, etc.); second, you must embody your desires (relationships are reciprocal; it’s not enough to simply find a good partner); and third, you must be aware of what you don’t want or need (e.g., dealbreaker values or traits).
Consider the following questions:
What beliefs and interests do you have in common?
What draws you in with them?
Do your friendships receive the same attention as your romantic relationships?
You can maintain a pleasant and healthy place for yourself by forming friendships with people who share your values of trust, respect, honesty, and equitable accountability.
Additionally, while it may seem apparent at times what you DO want in a partner, there are telltale symptoms of an unhealthy relationship as well as what you DON’T want. These include overstepping bounds or denying permission, setting unreasonable demands, putting in excessive amounts of time or attention demands, and love bombing.
Ways to communicate to build stronger and more fulfilling relationships
While some people communicate better than others, it can occasionally be challenging for couples with disparate communication requirements and styles to come to an agreement on communication issues.
Give each other a definition of “healthy communication.”
Here are some ideas if you and your spouse are having trouble deciding on communication preferences:
a. Allocate a specific time to discuss your preferred communication method. b. Write down your personal standards for communicating in a partnership. Is there daily texting? Often occurring phone calls? Getting some quality time spent alone ourselves, at least once or twice a week?
c. Examine how your partner’s communication demands differ from yours.
d. Determine what adjustments are necessary to strike a happy medium between your partner’s communication preferences and needs.
Stay receptive
Developing satisfying relationships with other people requires having an open mind to new ideas and experiences. Your friendships and other relationships will grow and expand as a result of you opening up and being passionate about what others have to offer.
Accurately assess your needs for self-care
There are many great feelings and significant health advantages to being in a relationship. However, everyone also requires personal time for other forms of self-care and companionship. Things like hanging out with friends, enjoying some alone time, taking care of yourself, and doing necessary tasks are all crucial.
Every relationship is ultimately about building trust and enjoying one other’s presence. Each person has a distinct idea of what that looks like. However, fostering and preserving strong connections is essential to our general wellbeing. Maintaining healthy and robust relationships is worth the time and effort it takes since they have a positive, quantifiable impact on both our mental and physical health.