Almost half of adults in the United States think that dating gets harder each year. The same is true of maintaining healthy relationships.
But, how do you recognize what makes up a healthy relationship? Read on to learn about the characteristics of a healthy relationship.
Communication
A healthy relationship should have a lot of communication. You need to be able to talk about your wants and needs, along with your expectations going forward.
So, make an effort to be vulnerable with your partner. If you have trouble making time to communicate, try working it into your schedule. Set up a recurring time to sit down and speak to each other and try and stay in touch throughout the week. Send a text whenever you’re thinking about your partner.
Honesty
Just communication alone isn’t enough to make a relationship healthy. You also need to be honest in that communication. Talk about what you actually need from your partner. And, don’t hide things that are difficult and complicated. If you have secrets that affect your partner, they’re bound to come out.
When you’re wondering how to be a good girlfriend, being honest is a major part of it. But, you do also need to be empathetic along with your honesty. You have to actually listen to what your partner is saying and pay attention to how it makes them feel. If your partner needs you to change a behavior, make an effort to do so.
Respect
Being respectful is one of the top dating tips out there. Partners in a relationship need to have mutual respect for each other. To have respect in a relationship, you also need to have trust in one another.
If you’re wondering if your girlfriend is toxic, a lack of respect and trust might be one good sign. Respect also means that you need to respect one another’s boundaries. When one person defines a boundary, you both need to respect it and not cross that line.
Love
You can have all the mutual respect in the world, but if you don’t truly love your partner, there’s very little you can do to make the relationship work.
Sometimes, if your relationship has been going on for a long time, you may love your partner, but you may not be in love with them anymore. Unfortunately, that’s a sign that your relationship may have run its course.
A relationship where one or both partners aren’t in love with each other has the potential to become very toxic very quickly. It’s best to end things while you still respect and care about each other, and you can move forward as friends.
Now You Know the Characteristics of a Healthy Relationship
Now that you’re educated about the characteristics of a healthy relationship, hopefully, you have some sense of what you’re looking for in the future.
Do you need more relationship advice? Scroll through some of our other great articles for all the help you need.
