What Do Healthy Relationships Look Like?
Individuals may look for different things in a relationship. Some people are looking for short-term relationships while others are seeking for a long-term and committed relationship. While each relationship may look different, a healthy dating relationship should include the following important qualities:
Honesty and Responsibility
Not making excuses for you partner's or your own actions, admitting when you're wrong, keeping your word, not canceling plans.
Trust & Support
Being Supportive, wanting the best for your partner, knowing your partner likes you, offering encouragment, being ok with your partner having different friends.
Respect
Paying attention to your partner even while others are around, valuing your partners opinion even if it differs from yours, listening to what your partner has to say.
Shared Responsibility
Making decisions together, splitting or alternating costs on dates, doing things for each other, going places you both enjoy, giving as much as you receive.
Open Communication
Being able to express your feelings or opinions, knowing it's ok to disagree, saying what you mean and meaning what you say.
Intimacy
Respecting your partners boundaries, respecting each other's privacy, not pressuring your partner, being faithful.
Physical Affection
Holding hands, hugging, sitting or standing with your arm on your partners shoulder, respecting each other's right to say no, asking before acting.
Fairness & Negotiation
Accepting changes, being willing to compromise, working to find solutions that are agreeable to both people, agreeing to disagree sometimes.
Consent
Consent is central to every healthy relationship. Partners should check in with one another and ask about actions taken in the relationship that involve their partner.
Signs of a Healthy Relationship
- Your partner listens to your thoughts and feelings.
- You feel safe being with your partner at all times.
- Your partner encourages you to spend time with your friends and family when you want to.
- You decide together when, and if, to have sex.
- Your partner allows you to make your own decisions and supports you in those decisions.
- You feel happy, loved, and satisfied in your relationship.
- Your partner encourages you to maintain things that are important to you, and to pursue your individual interests.
- Your partner is respectful towards you at all times.
- Your partner recognizes your strengths and accomplishments and gives you credit for them
Possible Signs of an Unhealthy Relationship
- You feel like you cannot live without your partner.
- You stop seeing other friends or family, or give up activities you enjoy because your partner doesn’t like them.
- You feel like you have to “walk on eggshells” to keep your partner from getting angry.
- You are afraid to tell your partner your thoughts or feelings about the relationship.
- You stop expressing opinions if your partner doesn’t agree with them.
- You feel that you are the only one who can help your partner and that you should try to change him/her.
- You stay because you believe that your partner will kill himself/herself if you leave.
- You believe the critical things your partner says about you
