5 Indicators of a Healthy Romantic Relationship Relationships are exhilarating and terrifying. Navigating the complexities of our own minds is hard enough! Fostering a relationship with another complex individual is even harder. We all want a healthy, loving, and supportive relationship. It can be a confusing process and that is okay! Healthy relationships are achievable and within your ability. Luckily, there's plenty of resources to help guide you in this thing called love. So, is your relationship healthy? To find out, here are five questions you can ask yourself: Do You Communicate Effectively? It has been said over and over again: communication is key to a good relationship. People in healthy relationships understand that their significant other can't read their minds. If they are upset, they say so. They effectively communicate why they are upset without casting blame and they work together to come up with a solution.
It is also crucial to be able to communicate what you out of sex, and you must be honest with each other while remaining respectful. Are You Still Individuals? Codependency is very common, but it can result in complications. Many couples think codependency is an indicator of a strong relationship because in order to feel closeness they must dissolve into each other. This is far, far from the truth. You are your own person. It is okay to have hobbies your S/O doesn't have. It is also perfectly normal and encouraged to have your own friends and career. The right partner will encourage you to do the things that make you happy. You do not have to be with your partner every minute, and you do not have to be exactly like your partner. In fact, true growth happens in the differences. Which leads to the next point‌ Do You Encourage Each Other to Grow and Change? It is not in our nature to be stagnant. We all grow.
And from growth, we experience change. Change is unavoidable. We develop in a multitude of ways throughout our lives. Do you have a partner that allows this growth and change to happen? Do Your Goals and Values Align? This is not to say that your goals and values have to be exactly the same. They just have to be aligned enough that you can respect the differences. Do you have a similar sense of right and wrong? Do you have the same idea of what a domestic partnership might look like? Do you both want kids? If you differ on some of these things, are you able to compromise on them and stay true to yourselves without resentment of the other? Do You Trust Each Other? Are you comfortable in your relationship? Do you express how you are feeling in an authentic way? Are you faithful? Are you willing to feel vulnerable with this person?
Trust and closeness go hand in hand. Nobody is perfect and relationships are a constant work in progress. We all make mistakes, but it is important that we learn from them. Kindness, trust, empathy, and healthy communication are all traits that set a firm foundation for a relationship that is happy and lasting.