Relationships come in many different shapes and sizes. Love doesn’t always look a certain type of way. What works for one person doesn’t always work for the next. What seems appealing won’t always be the goal for another couple.
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The foundation for any relationship, whether it be familial, friend, or romantic, is trust. That is the driving force for maintaining strength no matter what life throws at you. Infidelity is one sure way to break down trust, causing rifts in a relationship.
Infidelity doesn’t just mean having a physical affair. It can come in different forms, one of which is emotional infidelity. While nothing physical has happened, emotional infidelity is still considered a form of cheating.
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Let’s talk about sex, baby! In the beginning, it’s easy to be hot and heavy. As a relationship progresses, it’s only natural to have waxing and waning moments of attraction and drive. It’s also possible that other biological factors could be working anti-magic in the situation. More often for women, but men aren’t off the hook on this one either. Daily stress can influence a lot. Work distractions can have an impact. Hormones, age, medical issues, and even environmental factors can affect libido.
Regardless of why your libido may be running low, here are some natural ways to add spice to your love life.
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You may have heard the term before. It often gets thrown around in conversation amongst friends as a joke, whether it be with each other or in reference to a relationship. Codependency, however, is a more dysfunctional term and can lead to negative outcomes in a relationship. It refers to emotional and behavioral factors that can impact two people’s ability to have a healthy and productive relationship.
One person tends to be an over-giver (or caretaker), while the other is more of the receiver (or advantage-taker). This can be present in a romantic relationship, with a close friend, with family members, or with colleagues. It can spiral into an addictive-like back-and-forth behavior and become abusive or destructive.
Here are signs you may be in a state of emotional codependency.
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People are creatures of habit. This applies to our day-to-day activities, thoughts, feelings, and actions. When it comes to relationships, people tend to develop types. They build attraction off of types. They choose partners based on types. When a breakup happens, there’s this tendency to find a new partner who still fits that same mold.
Growth occurs when you learn about yourself and determine what lesson can be learned from a previous failed relationship. This information can be key to creating a healthy future relationship.
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Love is a battlefield…who do you want standing next to you for this fight called life? If you are in the dating game, a little self-reflection can go a long way. Here are five things to consider as you search for a new relationship.
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Do you find that your relationships are always short-lived? Are you always finding faults in your partners? Always giving up at the first opportunity? You could fear commitment, or being in a long-term relationship.
Commitment is a term we use for a broad spectrum here. Commitment may not just be about marriage or relationships. It can also be about dedicating time and effort to something, such as a job, a hobby, a goal, or if you are thinking ahead about your future.
Fear of commitment involves demonstrating fear, or unwillingness to commit to anything long term. This is mostly about relationships. You could be wary of making long-term plans with your partner such as having children, or meeting their family, as this can make you uncomfortable, or try to avoid it as much as possible.
So, why do we fear commitment, and what are the signs that you fear committing?
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Avoid insisting that your spouse fulfill your expectations or remain the "same person" you married. Commit to sharing your growth and new perspectives. Give each other the best chance possible to stay connected and emotionally available throughout the course of your marriage.
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Ineffective or problematic communication impairs many relationships. If nitpicking is wearing away the goodwill in your relationship, contempt and a complete breakdown may be next. It’s vital to seek support soon.
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Avoiding intimacy is not just about physical contact, it’s also about shying away from intimate conversations and discussions. By the time the sex stops, you may both feel that you do not have a close connection or bond with your partner. From there the divide grows.
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Ask your partner inquisitive questions to help you understand how they are feeling and what they want out of the relationship. Once you know these answers, you can work towards them together as a couple, or you’ll see if you are both on different levels, paths, or if you want different things.
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It can be tempting to compare your relationship to the ones we see on screen. Doing so can be unhealthy for those who experience the ups and downs of relationships in real life.
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You can’t help but wonder what happened to the excitement you once felt for your partner. Relationships aren’t easy. In fact, as the saying goes, they take work, and sometimes a little creativity, to find ways to inject a little passion back into your relationship.
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Many engaged couples choose to go through premarital counseling before the big day. Premarital counseling is designed to help you understand each other better. It gives you a chance to think through how you’ll handle conflicts and disagreements in the future. You’ll take time to delve into life goals and what each of you want from life — but premarital counseling might have had to wait until after quarantine time frames.
If you’re like many couples, you intended to begin or complete premarital counseling before the COVID pandemic began. But once it started, your premarital counseling sessions were put on hold in the interests of social distancing and public health. Perhaps you holed up together during the isolation and strangeness of this last year.
All that time together has likely changed your relationship in many ways. Because of this, premarital counseling after quarantine may look a lot different than it would have before the pandemic. Here are some things you might expect.
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When you first fall in love with someone, chances are you hope it’s going to last forever. Even if someone has gone through bad breakups in the past, deep down, they usually hope to find lasting love. Humans have an innate drive to connect. We need intimacy.
If you’re fortunate to be in a long-term, committed relationship, you likely know that you’re still going to struggle at times. Everyday life throws a lot at you. Keeping your relationship a priority can slide to the backburner when this happens. This response is even more accurate during tough times.
Thankfully, though, there are things you can do to ensure that your relationship will thrive.
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If you’ve been dating and trying to meet people, the chances are strong that the coronavirus pandemic has altered the way you approach it. This situation might cause you to wonder how a world crisis impacts romance altogether, and you’re not alone.
Social distancing makes in-person dating extremely difficult, if not impossible. Perhaps you thought you were hitting it off with someone online but hadn’t yet met in person. Now, that connection has fizzled. Or, you were in a relatively established relationship but still want to maintain physical distance.
Nevertheless, dating apps have seen an upsurge in usage since the pandemic started, so perhaps you’ve noticed more potential matches. The romantic landscape has undoubtedly shifted.
It might help you to know how the pandemic has changed dating thus far and that a world crisis impacts romance in plenty of ways.
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We tend to associate relationship counseling with those that are on the rocks. In reality, counseling is designed to provide strength and awareness—two things that relationships are often in need of.
Relationship counseling can help you and your partner, even if there are no problems in your relationship. Not only will it provide a clear means of communication, but it can help you and your partner better understand and plan for a future together.
Here’s how.
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