Everyone desires to be in a thriving relationship, but most of us have never been taught what it entails. Indeed, no one can give us a single tried-and-true recipe for love and successful partnerships. Multiple methods work for different relationships, and it’s pointless to come up with specific love criteria. However, the factors contributing to a happy relationship quality that might worsen over time — or why partnerships break entirely — are somewhat similar.
Add to this the recent social challenges of present-day society like pandemics, social distances, and gender issues. Fortunately, the top matchmaking sites and apps appear to be rapidly changing to assist the desire for human connection despite the need for social distancing.
In this post, you will learn top research-backed recommendations on developing a meaningful approach and happy relationship.
Begin The Relationship With a Definite Objective
To begin with, research reveals that when it comes to relationships, the saying “start as you plan to continue” may prove true.
According to recent research, many people who are dating end up “sliding” into a serious relationship out of complacency, and couples may wind up living together even if they don’t think they fit together.
According to University of Denver experts, couples move from non-cohabitation to cohabitation without fully comprehending what is occurring; it is frequently a non-deliberative and gradual process.
For example, since they have already invested a significant amount of time in the relationship, someone may decide to move in with, and possibly marry, their partner.
Even when one or both couples are sure at the outset of their relationship that they are not necessarily well matched to one another, According to Samantha Joel, Ph.D., and Prof. Paul Eastwick, dating and relationship experts, blind love may make it difficult for people to recognize possible difficulties and personality clashes. It can also make people assume that, no matter how irritating some of their new partner’s actions are, they will change someday.
Display of Appreciation And Attention
During the “honeymoon” phase of a relationship, lovers lavish one other with attention and words of gratitude.
However, after time, couples may begin to take one another lightly and fail to display the same level of appreciation.
One of the primary causes for long-term marriages breaking up, according to a 2017 survey, was the case in which one partner failed to provide enough care and attention to the other.
According to a 2018 research, young individuals aged 18–29 who believed their spouse made a similar effort in initiating text exchanges reported higher relationship satisfaction.
Reports from another study, women who said they were happy in their love relationships also said their spouses were respectful of their bodies. They also expressed greater happiness with their sex lives.
Finally, while material presents are not a measure of love in any relationship, surveys demonstrated that when a partner can and does send gifts, it can help to increase relationship happiness if done right.
Find Time For Couple Activities
Even when you share a living space, circumstances can get in the way of spending time with the individuals you care about. Work pressures, for example, might leave us with little time and energy to do something fun with our relationships.
However, studies suggest that couples who engage in enjoyable activities together are more likely to stay together. For instance, according to research, couples who spend time together playing board games have a better love life.
The study discovered a simple explanation for the link: partners who participated in these pleasant activities together observed a rise in oxytocin, sometimes known as the “love hormone,” which plays a critical role in bonding behaviors.
The board games study’s authors, Karen Melton, Ph.D., and colleagues, point out that it must entail contact between the partners for a couple’s activity to increase oxytocin.
For example, simply watching an activity together but not engaging will not produce the same bonding impact.
The novelty component also determined how much oxytocin was released: couples who planned their pleasant activity in a new location outside their house saw a higher “love hormone” increase relative to couples who played at home.
What’s the takeaway? Maintaining relationship quality may be as simple as doing pleasurable activities in new, unexpected places.
Practice Transparent Communication
Transparent communication is vital for building and maintaining a successful connection.
When resolving conflict in a long-term relationship, calm, open, and constructive communication is critical because no interpersonal link is genuinely devoid of conflict.
Profs Nickola Overall and James McNulty wrote in new research regarding communication during conflicts that stress can occur in partnerships when partners have competing objectives, preferences, and motives.
According to Profs Overall and McNulty, unmet expectations, financial issues, allocating tasks, parenting styles, and envy are just a few of the probable causes of conflict in a romantic relationship.
So, when it comes to resolving issues in an intimate relationship, what is the most effective approach to communication?
It depends, according to the researchers. They argue that hiding one’s thoughts and worries and quickly putting arguments under the rug is unlikely to help.
Crave ‘Me’ Space
While spending quality time with family and friends is crucial, it’s as worthwhile to allocate quality time for yourself and enable our spouses to do the same.
It’s similar to breathing in and out in a good relationship.
There is a cycle of closeness and separation, merging and separation, individuation, and [creating a] sense of self. If the connection is too far and there isn’t enough intimacy, the need to find it elsewhere may increase, maybe disguised as a sense of abandonment and neglect.
However, too much intimacy may make a relationship feel like a snare. If pushed to its logical conclusion — if a partner gradually separates their “significant other” from friends, family, and activities that they like — it might even be a symptom of emotional abuse.
Conclusion
You now have access to a complete handbook on maintaining a good relationship. Unfortunately, even if you put all of your efforts into a love connection, it may not work out, and this should not be viewed as a reason for regret. However, if your current relationship does not make you feel happy, safe, or respected, it may be time to focus on yourself and invest more in self-love before deciding how or if to start over with someone else. Are you in a happy relationship? Please share some lessons learned over the years with other readers in the comments below.
Leave a Reply