Dating is a two-way street.

Many couples start dating under a variety of circumstances. Each partner will be in their own personal place and might think differently or want different things out of the relationship. Quite often, the reason why couples end relationships early is because they experience difficulty finding common ground on essential relationship pillars.

Age differences, Career Objectives and Religion are all aspects that could lead to an early exit. It is vitally important to meet each other on the same relationship pillars and share the same objectives to ensure a healthy chance for the relationship to survive.

A Healthy Dating Relationship

To build and maintain a healthy relationship, you and your partner have to ensure that you are considerate and respectful of each other’s rights in the relationship. A healthy relationship means working on, and reciprocating, these essential elements of trust and respect.

In a healthy relationship, it is your responsibility and right to:

• Listen to your partner and be listened to
• Be honest with your partner and expect honesty in return
• Respect and be respected for your differences in feelings, other relationships, opinions, activities, priorities, goals, and interests.
• Allow for disagreements and to talk through them
• Respect your partner sexually and be respected sexually
• Support your partner throughout and receive support from your partner during the ups AND downs
• Respect and consider your partner’s needs / expect your own needs to be respected and considered
• Be fair to your partner and expect to be treated fairly in return
• Be faithful

An Unhealthy Dating Relationship

Sometimes, it’s difficult to know whether your relationship is healthy or unhealthy. A relationship can be unhealthy in many ways, including emotionally, sexually, physically, and/or verbally. If you find that your relationship is unhealthy, you can work to improve the issue, or you can get out of the relationship.  No one deserves to feel disrespected, unsafe, or insecure in their relationship.

Some examples of characteristics of an unhealthy relationship include:

• Trying to manipulate the other person
• Making the other person feel bad about her/himself
• Do not make time for each other
• Verbal abuse by blaming or calling names
• Dictates how the other person should dress
• Ignore each other when one is speaking
• Criticizes the partner’s friends
• Are afraid of the other person’s temper
• Are overly possessive or jealous
• Force the other to have sex when he/she doesn’t want to
• Supports others in criticizing some aspect of the other person
• Controls the other person’s money or other resources
• Harm or threaten to harm family, pets, or objects of personal value
• Physically abusive
• Use physical force or threaten to prevent the other person from leaving

Relationships are Incredible!

Relationships can be one of the incredibly fulfilling and rewarding parts of life and naturally also the most challenging. Think about the qualities you seek out in a friendship and see how they match up with the ingredients of a healthy relationship. Work on developing the good qualities in yourself as they will make you a lot more attractive to others. If you are already in a relationship, make sure it is one that brings out the best in both of you.