Relationships are a huge part of people’s lives. They can be loving and supportive or challenging and hurtful. Relationships can be with family, friends, co-workers and more. People in healthy relationships have a better outlook on life and are healthier.
It’s important to talk with your partner regularly and listen to each other too. Misunderstandings happen, but being clear about what you mean reduces them. Being able to say you’re sorry when you make a mistake is also an important part of a healthy relationship. Being affirming, which means saying nice things about your partner, is another way to be a good partner.
Different types of relationships include casual, platonic, romantic and non-romantic. They can be in-person or virtual. A committed relationship, like marriage, binds two people to each other and can be monogamous or nonmonogamous. Monogamous refers to a relationship in which the people agree to be exclusive with one another and not have other romantic or sexual partners. Nonmonogamous refers to a relationship that allows for more than one person and can be either romantic or platonic.
Even though no relationship is perfect, many people don’t realize that they can be healthy if both parties put in the effort. Far too often, couples throw in the towel when they don’t have a “perfect” relationship, but many can learn to communicate well and work through disagreements. They can also learn that they may need to accept that some differences in values, habits and beliefs cannot be changed.
