Maintaining Healthy Relationships

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When your relationships are happy, you are happier and healthier in the rest of your life too. Of course, relationships can often be fraught, and it can be trickier than you might ever have imagined maintaining healthy relationships over a long period, but that doesn’t mean you should not try!

In fact, I’ve put together a few tips to help you do just that…

Set realistic expectations

Whether you are simply talking to a new date on one of these phone numbers or you are living with a husband you’ve been married to for years, it is important that you always set realistic expectations for them and for your relationship.

If you expect too much, then you are only ever going to be disappointed and that will lead to more arguments. When you are in a relationship with someone, you have to expect that they will have their flaws and so will you - no one is perfect. 

Talk

There is no getting around the fact that, if you want to maintain a healthy relationship with anyone, you need to communicate with them often. You need to be able to tell them what you need and you need to be able to listen to what they need so you can find a way through the tough times together. If you can’t talk, how can you have a healthy lasting relationship?

Look after yourself

You might be in a relationship, but you, first and foremost, are responsible for your own health and wellbeing. By taking time out to focus on the things that will help you look after yourself, whether that be meditation, a pedicure or therapy, or something else completely, you can maintain better relationships because you will be in a good place yourself.

When you feel good, you are less likely to anger quickly or be annoyed by those minor irritants everybody has, so your relationships will be much healthier too. It really is that simple.

Be reliable

If you say you are going to do something, do it. That may sound overly simplistic, but it is a fast track to relationship harmony. Why? Because your spouse will know that you can be depended on no matter what and that is really very important.

Take responsibility

If you do something wrong, don’t try to deny it or come up with excuses, own it and apologize. That way, you can all move on much more quickly without any animosity, and you know, admitting to your mistakes is the grownup thing to do.

Make time for each other

Above all, you should make time for each other if you want to maintain a strong and healthy relationship. If you fail to do this, then drifting apart is almost inevitable, so have a regular date night or whatever, and don’t cancel it for anything or anyone!

Maintaining healthy relationships will not always be smooth sailing, but it is possible, and these tips will hopefully help you to find more harmony with the people who are closest to you.

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This post was written with the Life According to Steph audience in mind