Healthy relationships have a huge impact on our wellbeing and mental health.
Having a healthy, loving and long-lasting relationship requires both parties to have a continual willingness to work on themselves and your relationship.
Continuing to build on your friendship will strengthen your relationship. Together you can positively work through any challenges you encounter.
Communication
- Be clear with your wants and needs in the relationship.
- Share information and create opportunities for understanding. Don’t leave your partner to guess or assume what you are thinking.
- Talk about the hard stuff when things are going well.
- Learn how to recognise and understand your own emotions.
- Get to know each other’s communication strengths and weaknesses.
Intimacy
- Set regular time aside for just the two of you – and stick to it.
- Be open and communicate about your intimacy.
Conflict
- Approach conflict with a helpful attitude. Conflict should be a discussion – not a war.
- Learn to acknowledge your own emotions and manage them. When your emotions start to heighten, take a time-out to calm down.
- Acknowledge each other’s point of view.
- Negotiate and seek a resolution. This might mean letting go and moving forward.
- Maintain perspective. The issue is the conflict, not your partner.
