The association, interaction, and connection between people result in many different types of relationships. Not all of them are meant last as some of them are more like bridges that connect you to other different people or reward you with interesting experiences. Let’s put our focus on four types of relationships.
These relate to people you connect with through kinship. It could be family members or relatives. Family relationships are broad and could be realized through blood (parents, sisters and brothers), marriage (step-parents, aunts and uncles), romantic relationships (your acquaintance’s parents) or adoption.
Your friend is someone you’re not related to, but choose to trust, respect, care about, and interact. You just enjoy spending time with them. The connection is usually built on honesty, support, and loyalty. It’s a reciprocal relationship where both people see each other as friends. It’s perfectly normal to feel closer to some of your friends than others.
Acquaintances are people you tend to encounter more often but are not in friends or relatives' bracket. Good examples are that neighbor you pass by the road every morning or a colleague at work you’re not used to spending close moments with.
Romantic relationships involve strong physical and personality attraction to the other person. The other person in the relationship usually reciprocates this. People in romantic relationships may prefer to live together, or if apart, they will see each other more often or frequently stay in contact. They both feel an incredibly strong love connection and rather bond intimately.
All love relationships are based on three main components, which include intimacy, passion, and commitment. A combination of either two of these elements leads to different types of a love relationship.
Intimacy enables you to develop friendship and familiarity with a person. Feelings of closeness may make you end up liking and connecting with the individual.
Passion follows intimacy, where infatuation and sexual attraction take center-stage. You’ll feel like being with the person at all times.
The commitment stage is where parties decide to preserve the relationship through thick and thin. They strive to stick with each other in the relationship, rather forever.
When you combine these components of love, the outcomes tend to be more complicated and interesting as well.
Fatuous love combines the elements of commitment and passion. The connection is built without much substance behind it. Due to a lack of intimacy, such love is often difficult to sustain. If the level of commitment is quite high, it also gets tricky to dissolve.
Romantic love has the components of passion and intimacy but lacks commitment. It’s focused more on the now than the future. There is physical attraction and the matching of minds, but with no commitment to formalize the relationship. It’s thus sustained with sex and close friendship. This type of connection brings out several other types of romantic relationships.
This type of love is fueled by commitment and intimacy. It exhibits powerful emotional bonds, and the connection is stronger than just a simple friendship. However, since it’s missing the passion element, it could feel more like a comfortable arrangement.
This type of love is complete with all three components – intimacy, passion, and commitment. With the comfort of intimacy, excitement of passion, and the spirit of commitment, partners never tire of each other. The sex is great, and they enjoy strong physical and emotional affection for years on end.
Many factors influence the type of relationship between couples. These are not limited to your personalities, relationship experiences, and goals. In as much as every relationship is not meant to last, some of them offer great experiences and opens up your view of what type of connection you’d opt for.
It’s also known as a co-dependent relationship. Both partners can’t seem to be without each other. You don’t feel like staying away from your partner. The decisions made in this type of relationship involve the agreement of both parties.
Most relationships require compromise and sacrifice. You could be independent to a certain level that allows both of you to function without each other, but it should not come out as a showoff. Total independence in a relationship is not healthy.
This type of relationship allows you to see each other outside of the relationship. There are high chances that either one of you is not ready to get emotionally involved in the relationship. An open relationship is getting more and more common in modern ages.
In a dominant or submissive relationship, either you control your partner, or they control you. It’s characterized by a lack of independence, understanding, and trust. In most cases, the relationship is never healthy.
In a long-distance relationship, the partners stay away from each other, but communication is more frequent. They can plan for a meetup whenever they feel. This type of relationship could experience moments of desperation.
This type has no place for a deeper connection. The parties involved are clearly for sex and nothing intimately or emotionally connecting.
It is the type of relationship that results in a happy marriage. It’s based on understanding, trust, and love. The people involved love and respect one another, and are ready to make sacrifices whenever appropriate.
There are certain characteristics that define healthy relationships. They shouldn’t be optional. So, when they’re missing, it’s important to address them.
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