Do you sometimes wonder just how happy your relationship is? Maybe you’re aware that something is needing mending, and want to know what and how you should address. Even if you don’t feel there’s patching up to do, it would be interesting to assess your relationship as healthy relationships go. Anyway, there are always things to learn from a scientific approach to the nature of bonds that unite two people. Just by learning more about it you can make it stronger and enduring.
Close relationships are built up from many different traits, some of them basic and indispensable, some minor and varying from couple to couple. This article deals with some of the more important ones – it is not complete, but gives enough food for thoughts.
Take This Quiz And Find Out Right Now: Are You Meant To Be Together?
Feeling safe
No relationship can exist for any considerable time without the foundation of safety. When being with your partner you ought to feel protected, safe. Your partner is your shield, you are not supposed to expect anything in the least threatening from him or her. There’s also psychological safety to be taken into account – a partner is somebody with whom you can be yourself and not be afraid of being judged. You lay down your defenses and lower your guard.
Being completely open
A healthy and happy relationship is necessarily the one where you are always open-hearted. Couples who are not honest with one another are bound to drift apart sooner or later. To make it last you must be sure that your partner is absolutely above-board with you and will make a clean breast of it if something happens – even if it is a hard thing to do. Bear in mind that the truth does not always have to sound bluntly or harshly – one can find tactful ways to express a hurtful event or opinion.
Trusting one another
Another indispensable factor of an enduring relationship is mutual trust. When your partner promises or simply says anything, you must know you can rely on their words – and they can rely on yours with the same certainty. When both partners are trustworthy and reliable, it excludes many tensions from the relationship.
Sharing love
That’s what your relationship hangs on. Love was the starting point of your togetherness, it is your adhesive, the source of strength, the guarantee of you feeling good in times of trouble. If handled properly, love will only grow with years and hold out the promise of a long life brightened by your adoring partner.
Laughing together
Having fun is a powerful glue in your relationship. It is also a great symptom that your relationship is going strong, because if it is weak, you will hardly have a lot of fun together. Whereas when you have genuine feelings for each other, you will want fun and games in your lives. You join in amusing pastimes, you have a string of funny occurrences that you are glad to share with your friends.
Feeling dependent
No relationship which lacks dependability is bound to last for long. When you feel that your partner is unreliable, you will be amassing problems which are sure to undermine the relationship. On the other hand, when you know that you can rely on your partner’s verbal and physical support whenever you need it, it goes to solidify the bond that already exists.
Remaining faithful
Wishing that your partner stays faithful to you is one of the underlying wishes in a healthy partnership. It is the basic notion of commitment, when you feel obliged to maintain loyalty to the one you love while your relationship lasts. It’s what makes your union unique and at the same time closed to other people. The comfort you derive from the relationship is in direct correlation to the level of faithfulness you keep up.
The abovementioned traits are of prime importance in a relationship that is meant to thrive. There are bound to be other basic traits that add depth and meaning to a union of two people – have you got ones that you hold indispensable?
Take The Quiz: Are You Meant To Be?
In summary…
The Biggest Signs You’re In A Happy Relationship
- Feeling safe
- Being completely open
- Trusting one another
- Sharing love
- Laughing together
- Feeling dependent
- Remaining faithful
About the Author
Daria Kurilko is the founder, writer and editor of Geniusbeauty.com – an online guide for women about beauty, health and relationships. She has a master’s degree in sociology with a number of scientific publications to her credit and extensive experience in marketing and PR. Daria, who currently lives in Wiesbaden, Germany, is also a loving mother and wife. Since 2007 she enjoys sharing her experiences and broad knowledge about all things fashion, nutrition and lifestyle with her readers.
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These are the types of things that get me through tough times when I am alone.
I wonder if I am going to have a good relationship. We just met, but things are going good, like they always do. I just do not know what might come of the future.
So many people worry about making themselves happy. If you reverse it and make your partner happy, it will come back to you at some point, trust me.
Hmmmm, I will have to show my husband this and see what he thinks.
Happiness comes from the hard work of two loving people. Right?
There are a lot of things that go into a good relationship and one of those is hard work. Many people bring that up here and that is because they know it is true.
My husband and I have been together for 15 years and I can easily say that the signs that you are reading about here, are there in a relationship that lasts as long as ours has.
If you are willing to be with a person, commit your life to them and making them feel happy and safe, you are going to have one great relationship.
Even as a guy, this list is real nice to see. If you can get into a committed, loving relationship with a person, you are miles ahead of many people around here.
There is always that point when something “clicks”, right? All of a sudden it feels like everything is going the right direction and you are in harmony with another person.
Having your alone time is still very important even after you are married. You need to be able to be yourself some of the time.
Yes it is. Being your own person is key to a long relationship.
Being in a happy relationship is a great thing. However, it is one thing that does take some time to develop, in my opinion. These are all good starting points.
When you are open with a person you love, there is a trust factor there that comes along with it. You are only going to open up about personal things with someone that you can trust.
having a happy relationship is not easy. I feel sorry for those that are not happy and cannot find a way to get around things that make them fight or despise each other.
Happy relationships take hard work from both sides. When you do not have that, things can get bad quickly.
You got that right. IF both partners are not willing to MAKE it work, you will be in for a disappointment.
When it comes to having a happy marriage, my husband and I always said that it comes down to your “me” time. Each of us still spends our own time doing things that we want to do without interruptions and that has worked wonders for many years.
Being able to stay faithful to the one you love is hard for people to do these days and that is sad. I have never had that issue. In fact, whenever I am with someone, it seems that my opposite sex radar is turned off.
I love being able to laugh with by g/f. It is one of the things that really seems to bring us closer to each other.
I feel the same way. Laughing has always been a better part of my personality.
I love being in a happy relationship. Things are greener, brighter and warm. All the time!
That is true. It makes your brain see things differently.
I was open and honest with a guy one time, but he still cheated on me. I cannot figure out how to find a guy that is decent.
I am sorry to hear that. You should know that was just an isolated case and that you should always be open and honest, even if the guy cannot be.
Since I have seen most of this list in my current relationship, I am going to say that I am pretty blessed.
Feeling safe and that a guy can protect you is pretty important to me. Good list!
Same with me. I need to feel safe otherwise there is no reason for him to be around.