Essential Factors of Healthy Relationships

7 Factors of Healthy Relationships

1. RESPECT

   Holding your partner in high esteem is extremely important.

2. HONESTY

   Always expressing your truth to your partner and being fully open with them, for both the little things as well as the big things. ... Being honest means being your authentic true self around your partner, never wearing a mask or hiding who you are, what you think, or how you feel. Honesty builds trust.

3. TRUST

   Believing him or her to be a person of high character; a person who will do things that are in your best interest. If your relationship lacks trust, it's hard to get close to the other person and rely on him or her for support. Trust does not happen automatically. It is created with time and across a series of interactions. Likewise, trust entails honesty, safety, reliability, dependability, accountability, responsibility and sharing.

4. ACCOUNTABILITY

   You know they will be there for you, without judgment.

5. EFFECTIVE LISTENING

   Being attentive and trying to understand your partners’ perspective is a key way to show respect in your relationship. Not trying to change or persuade your partners’ lived experience into yours, by changing their mind about things that are important to them. In a healthy relationship, it’s ok to disagree and disagreeing doesn’t mean one person has to change their mind in order for your relationship to work, it means both partners have mutual respect for one another and respect each other’s’ ability to share their point of view honestly. After all, part of what makes relationships amazing are our differences!

6. MINDFULNESS

   Protecting your partner and remaining mindful of your partner’s feelings and not doing things that could actually hurt them, such as keeping things that are supposed to be private just between you two. 

7. BOUNDARIES

   Being considerate of your partner’s privacy and boundaries and having respect of person understanding we all have personal boundaries on what makes us feel good, comfortable, safe, etc.

Aspen, J., (2019). Five signs of an unhealthy relationship. Independence Blue Cross.

Ducharme, J., (2018). How to tell if you're in a toxic relationship — and what to do about it. https://time.com/5274206/toxic-relationship-signs-help/ 

Wallace, P, (2020).  Unhealthy Relationships: Symptoms and side effects. Copyright 2021 Psychreg Ltd.