09 Feb The link between Positive Relationships and Emotional Health
Your mental health influences the way you think, you feel and you react in daily life. It also affects your ability to cope with stress, overcome challenges, build relationships. All over the world, people devote this period to celebrate love. But we need to pay attention every day because relationships are important for our health and emotional well-being.
„Healthy relationships enable us to be who we are” says Mary Jo Kreitzer, Ph.D., R.N.,Director of the Center for Spirituality & Healing from USA. They nurture us and they help us grow, in personal life and provide us support in professional life.
However, relationships are challenging sometimes but the effort to have a balanced and healthy life brings us benefits. Loneliness can weaken our immune system and lonely people are more likely to suffer from depression.
Our mind and body are intrinsically linked. When you’re physically healthy, you are happier. While our mood can influence our health.
What makes for a healthy romantic relationship differs from a couple to couple. Forming a trusting and positive partnership takes effort and time. And it doesn’t just happen overnight. For any relationship to grow strong and stay strong, you need to put in some work. Below are some habits that will help create and maintain a happy and strong relationship:
Communication
It’s one of the most important qualities of a healthy relationship. However, not everyone knows how to comunicate properly or don’t comunicate at all. Happy and healthy couples share their feelings but also their problems. They compliment each other but discuss the things they don’t like, without fighting or make the other to feel uncomfortable.
Quality time not quantity
It doesn’t matter how much time you and your partner spend together. The most important part is about the quality of this time. There’s a big difference between having dinner while you talk about your day and stay together and watching a movie. It’s important to go out and try new things together, no matter they are about sport, culture or relaxation.
Time apart
Spending time together is important. But just as important is spending time apart. Having time for yorself and for your hobbies and remaining independent is good for your emotional well-being. When couples spend too much time together, it can create an unhealthy dependence. Maintaining a healthy anutonomy will contribute to a long-lasting partnership.
Practicing acceptance and appreciation
In his book “How to be an adult in relationships: the five keys to mindful loving”, David Richo explains that two of the keys to mindful loving are acceptance and appreciation. He says: “In a true relationship, we are mindful present, with care, non-intrusively, the way we are present with things in nature. We don’t tell to a birch tree it should be more like a fir tree. We don’t have preconceived ideas, just appreciation for who the other is.”
Accept that all relationships have their ups and downs
Do not expect to have the same ideas all the time. Your relationship can not be always perfect. When you have a long-lasting relationship, you must have the power to oversome the less good moments and to stay together no matter what, in good or difficult moments for your relationship.
