All relationships require a little bit of maintenance from time to time, but if you’re in a healthy relationship, it’s fairly easy to do. Healthy relationships are relationships that include far more smiles than stress. In the best partnerships, both individuals feel stronger due to each other. Here are things that everyone in a healthy relationship remembers to do.
- They ask about each other’s days. And they genuinely want to know how yours has been. It’s not just a prompt. After asking about your day, a healthy partner will actively listen. They also won’t talk over you or try to finish your sentences out of impatience. Not everyone is the best natural listener, but trying is a huge step in the right direction.
- They give each other space. It’s good to have activities to do together, but it’s also important for alone time. Whether that’s letting you take an hour-long bath while listening to NPR or letting them take an all-day hike to get some stress out, it’s important to be able to have time spent apart that won’t make you feel angry or jealous. Taking breaks from each other doesn’t mean you’re tired of each other or that things are falling apart — it just means you both deserve the right to separately do things you enjoy.
- When they’re not feeling that great, they communicate about it. We all have those off days where we want to spend all day in bed. In a healthy relationship, couples clue each other in if something’s up. That way, any cranky spells or lack of energy are explained outright, and nobody will read into them too much. Communication is one of the best tools in a healthy relationship. When partners are on the same page, they can work together much easier.
- They never forget to be close. Relationships are about more than just sex. Hugs, handholds, and cuddles are a big part of intimacy. Even if you’ve been together for a long time, these small gestures still happen. It might not be the same as when you first started dating, but it’s still important.
- They talk about money. Money can be a tricky topic, especially if one of you happened to lose a job or accept a pay cut. Talking about finances doesn’t need to lead to a fight. In a healthy relationship, it’s more of an open topic. The two of you don’t feel the need to hide any expenses or lie about what you bought. If one of you does have a tendency to overspend, it’s talked about in a calm way to try and find solutions together.
- Meal prep is on both of them. It doesn’t have to be 50/50, but when both people can prepare food, it takes a lot of daily stress off of one person. Being able to split household responsibilities altogether is a positive, but when dealing with food in specific, everyone gets a break. It’s also a good thing if the two of you plan a date night once a week to keep the spark alive and let someone else take care of the dishes.
- They compliment each other. It doesn’t need to be daily — and in fact, often it’s not. But, making sure to compliment each other is a good way to show appreciation. Little things like, “this was an excellent dinner tonight” or “that new shirt looks great on you” are genuine and go a long way. These help keep the relationship strong. They may seem minor, but they’re little reminders of appreciation.
- They don’t forget to loop each other in on plans. Sometimes when you’ve been a couple for a long time, someone will send a party invite to one of you, figuring it’s as good as telling you both. Healthy couples make sure to let their partner know about it right away to keep them in the loop. Whenever it comes to a big event or something that requires both of your attendance, they’re never blindsided. That equals a lack of resentment and the lack of feeling under-prepared.
- Important dates are never forgotten. It’s 2021. There’s no longer an excuse to forget an anniversary or a birthday when you have a phone that’s prepared to remind you. Sometimes life gets busy and the amount of prep work for these milestone moments may be slim to none. But, remembering special days is something that healthy couples never forget about. Chances are, they’ve also discussed it ahead of time so that they have a good idea of what to expect of the day.
