Thursday, April 29, 2010

Committed Relationship Discussion: Your Relationship: Healthy or Unhealthy?

Source: www.twoofus.org

When you think about your current relationship, how do you feel? Do you remember good times together and dream about your future? Or do you wonder if this person is really right for you? Unlike what we see in the movies, relationships are about more than love and romance. So how do you know if your relationship is one for the ages?

Is Your Relationship Healthy?
A healthy relationship is characterized by a sense of commitment, contentment, and safety. Ask yourself if your relationship has the following traits:

Good Communication
Good communication is the key to all relationships. When you can communicate your feelings, wants, and goals, you share who you are now and where you hope to be in the future. You also learn the same from your partner. Creating an open and honest atmosphere for communication allows you to grow closer and equip yourselves to build a future together.

Commitment
Commitment is essential to a healthy relationship. It means you can count on one another and plan for a future together. A strong, committed relationship let's you enjoy the good times and gets you through the bad times.

Trust
Being at ease in a relationship is a by-product of trust. When you trust your partner to treat you well and to speak the truth, feelings of jealousy are tossed aside in favor of love and honesty. You have the confidence of knowing your partner is mindful of your best interest. Trust is an element of friendship, an important aspect of a healthy relationship.

Fairness and Respect
Give-and-take in relationships is also important. Do you both have a say in what movies to go to, what friends to hang out with, how much time to spend with your families, and what to spend money on? Your relationship should not feel like a power struggle but rather involve mutual respect and healthy compromise.

Sound like your relationship? Good! A healthy bond is meant to enrich the lives of the people involved, making them happier and more fulfilled.

Is Your Relationship Unhealthy?
A relationship is unhealthy if it involves disrespectful, mean, abusive, controlling, or violent behavior. No one goes looking for a bad relationship, but they do happen, and it's not your fault. Maybe you don't trust your partner, you can't tell him/her how you honestly feel, or you're afraid of your partner. If this rings true for you, you should consider getting help or even ending the relationship.

Here are some signs that your relationship may be doing more harm than good:

Disrespect
Someone who loves you will not insult or belittle you, even if they claim to be doing it "for your own good." When you respect someone, you appreciate them for who they are. A respectful relationship allows partners to have different opinions.

Jealousy
Like an ice pick, jealousy chips away at a relationship until little else remains. While it's normal to feel a bit of envy now and then, your partner should not make you feel guilty about a new job, spending time with friends, or your success.

Abuse and Violence
Nearly all couples argue, and you may get quite angry with each another, but healthy relationships do not include abuse or violence as part of these arguments. Important warning signs of verbal, emotional, and physical abuse include:

Insults, demeaning language, and constant put-downs
Physical abuse (hitting, shoving, or slapping)
Forced sexual activity

If disrespect, jealousy, abuse, or violence are a part of your life as a couple, you should ask yourself if your current relationship is really right for you. No one deserves to be abused or made to do something that makes them uncomfortable. If you are experiencing any of these things in your relationship, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) for help.

Conclusion
Being in a healthy relationship is a great part of life! Relationships give people the chance to share their experiences and complement their lives. But healthy relationships take work. Both partners need to remain committed and make an effort to keep the love and respect alive.

1 comment:

  1. are men consider promiscuous or maybe over confident in relations? why do you only date certain woman? well if you ask me personally i say theres 3 types of men and since this era in the usa has changed since the early 90"s i can only speak for was seen today. i consider some men outgoing and curious in relations, why? simply because we lived in a world that in some way or another other countries and cultures are part of our society. so what does that mean? it means that is not new or strange to come across another race or culture. so that been said we can date out of our own culture or race. A great example is my scenerio i unlike other man i only date certain woman because i been exposed to meeting other woman from around the world and learning differences and compatibility with in a personality, so if i date a latin woman and the term latin can come from many cultures or races like cuban,mexican,spanish,chile,argentina ect...if the relation does not work out because we are not compatible then i decided to date a new group of race. why? not date another woman with-in that group of race? well and in many cases regardless of race we find ourselfs phisically attractive to each other and woman misunderstood the term of physically or sexually attractive to each other rather then been fully comfortable with eachother and having chemistry in other areas besides sex.
    so another example of this is like, if i decided to date an african american woman because of her traits but in time realize we are not compatible in other areas why not date another african american woman? well this is a question that certain man can answer. simply because men dont want to spend a lifetime seeking a good woman with in that cultute or group(race) rather we wanna give that opportunity to a whole new race culture because we are uncertain that we might find all those traits in that person rather then having the doubt of trying to work out a relation revalent to a previous race culture or group that we recently dated. so many statistics and reviews and personal experiences conclude that i and other man have better chances to find the right woman with all the traits by seeking those traits in other cultures or race rather then spending to much time trying to work out differences, so bring us back to my first question why do you only date certain woman? well after this explanation it simply comes down to i believe that their is good traits and good woman in every culture but it takes one bad relation or not compatible to move on to give myself and others the opportunity to find a healthy relationship in other woman. so many have misunderstood the terms and the stereotypes and all comes down to we man and woman simply are attractive to personality, features, physical appearance and many other things outside your own race but if you had a great experience then you will feel comfortable dating that particular race and culture rather than been unsure if you might have the same bad experince in your past relations. so for today this concludes my topic of the day>>>

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