Creating healthy relationships is an important part of our mental health and wellbeing. It’s important to understand how to build and maintain healthy relationships so you can feel happy, safe and loved.
Building healthy relationships requires work from both parties. They must be committed and willing to accommodate each other’s needs, as well as set boundaries.
Know Your Needs
In most cases, our life problems stem from one of our basic emotional needs being unmet. Identifying and meeting your fundamental needs can help you solve many of the most complex issues in your life, including depression, anxiety, addiction, PTSD, and relationship challenges.
Understanding your basic needs and how they developed can offer you new hope, commitment, and resolve to address your life inertia. This clarity can also help you feel more motivated to work on shifting your life inertia, and it can provide a sense of relief from the pain that has accumulated over time.
Once you know your basic needs and how they evolved, it can be easier to identify and express them in healthy ways. For example, if you want someone to appreciate your efforts more often in a friendship or relationship, Nelson suggests leading with gratitude instead of excuses.
Another way to start identifying your needs is to think about the things in your life that make you happy and satisfied. These may include your work, avocations, hobbies, or relationships.
Write down everything that makes you happy and satisfied on a piece of paper. Afterward, review it and write down what you noticed about each item.
If you notice anything that isn’t on your list, add it to it. This is important because your needs and wants are likely to change over time, despite their universal nature.
For example, if you’re a person who enjoys physical intimacy and sex, but your partner doesn’t like it, you might try to find a new love interest or move on from your current relationship. This may take some effort on your part, but it is worth the effort when you can finally meet your core needs.
Be Honest
Honesty is a fundamental ingredient for building healthy relationships. It enables you to communicate effectively with your partner, which can help prevent conflict and build trust.
You should never try to hide your true feelings or opinions from your partner, because you can only hurt them in the process. Being truthful also promotes good communication and can even help your health.
Besides, it makes you feel more secure in your relationship and boosts your self-love. In fact, research shows that people who are securely attached don’t waste time on worry or fear, which contributes to mental well-being and physical health.
Being honest with your partner can be difficult, especially when you’re not sure what to say or don’t want to hurt their feelings. However, it’s important to keep your words light and respectful.
It’s also a good idea to be truthful when your partner asks you to tell them something, as this is an opportunity to build trust. If you lie, it can hurt your partner’s feelings and make them question whether or not you truly care about them.
Another reason to be honest is that it can help you and your partner understand each other better. For example, if one of you is upset about something and the other doesn’t realize it, honesty can help both parties work together to solve the problem.
It’s also a good idea to have honest friends, as this can encourage you to be more open with your partner and show them that honesty is important. In turn, this can help you build healthy relationships and lead to a happy marriage.
Be Respectful
When you’re in a relationship with someone, it’s important to respect their feelings, beliefs, interests, and opinions. If you disregard these, it’s likely that the relationship will suffer.
Creating respectful relationships isn’t easy, but it is essential to your well-being. It helps you feel connected and nourished, which can lead to healthier self-esteem and mental health.
One of the most important ways to show respect in a relationship is through communication. Talking to each other regularly about how you are feeling and what you think is a great way to build trust in the relationship.
It is also important to be respectful of others’ perspectives, time, and space. For example, it is rude to cut in line or ignore people who are waiting for you. It is also disrespectful to walk past someone who looks dejected or to ignore people who are struggling or are in need of help.
If you’re in a relationship that doesn’t respect you, it can cause serious damage to your mental health and your sense of well-being. If you are feeling disrespected, it is crucial that you get support immediately.
Another important way to be respectful is to set boundaries for yourself and your partner. For example, if you have a boundary that you haven’t respected in the past, such as leaving dirty dishes on the counter or not asking for a shower before you leave for work, it may be worth discussing this with your partner.
Whether you’re in a romantic, platonic, or sexual relationship, it is important to respect your partner. Having respect for your partner will ensure that you are both happy in the relationship. It will also make it easier to communicate your needs and share your thoughts with them.
Be Compassionate
The ability to be compassionate is one of the most important aspects of building healthy relationships. It’s something that most people can improve on if they try. It’s a skill that can help you maintain a positive mindset and keep your spirits up when life gets hard.
Compassion is a feeling of concern for the well-being of others. It involves noticing their troubles, feeling their pain, and responding emotionally to their needs.
To be compassionate, you need to be able to see other people’s points of view and not judge them for their problems. This is a skill that takes time to develop, but it will be worth the effort.
You can practice compassion by focusing on other people’s feelings and imagining how they would feel in your situation. This can be a great way to ease tension in your relationship.
It can also be a great way to show your mate that you care about them and are there for them. If they feel like you’re there for them, they’ll be more likely to want to spend time with you.
There are many ways to be compassionate, from giving up your seat at a restaurant to helping someone else move. You can even donate to a charity store or take a second to listen to someone at work.
In addition, it can help you build healthier emotional resilience to rejection and trauma. You can also increase your compassion through training and exposure to other people’s situations and feelings.
When you’re in a relationship, it’s especially important to be compassionate. You can do this by putting yourself in the shoes of your mate and imagining how they would feel. You can also show your mate how much you care by demonstrating your compassion when they share their concerns with you.
Be Open
Openness is a critical part of healthy relationships. It means being honest about your needs and feelings, and expressing your opinions without hiding them. It also means being able to listen when your partner is sharing theirs.
In addition, it helps you maintain a healthy mindset. Being open to change can help you to think more creatively, learn new things about yourself, and develop a positive attitude towards life.
It’s important to remember that healthy relationships are built on trust, and all successful partnerships rely on honest communication. Being open to talking about your thoughts, feelings, and emotions will ensure that you and your partner are communicating in a way that makes sense to both of you.
Being open can be a bit complicated at first, but it only seems complicated because you aren’t used to the idea. This is why it’s so crucial to practice openness with a mindset that’s congruent with what you want to achieve.
One of the most common myths about open relationships is that you have to be less committed to your primary partner if you want to explore intimate connections with other people. This isn’t true, and it’s a pretty simple misconception to dispel.
This is a false belief that prevents many people from making the connection they’re meant to make. In fact, having an open relationship is one of the strongest signs of commitment you can have in a relationship. It’s a strong indicator that the two of you are really committed to each other, and it’s a sign that the relationship is worth investing in.