10 Ways To Develop A Healthy Relationship

In a recent blog post the psychiatrist Mark Goulston outlines 10 habits for happy couples.

Develop common interests: When the initial passion of your relationship settles down you may discover that you have few shared interests. Take the time to develop them, remembering to also develop interests of your own so that you don’t appear too dependent on your partner.

Go to bed at the same time: At the start of your relationship did you ever imagine not going to bed at the same time as your partner?

Make trust and forgiveness the norm: If you do argue, and find it difficult to resolve arguments, ensure you have trust and forgiveness at the centre of your relationship. distrusting and begrudging your partner can lead to long term difficulties.

Walk hand in hand: Have you ever seen couples out together where one partner is lagging behind? Do you ever do it yourself? Try to walk hand in hand or side by side with your partner.

Focus on what your partner does right, not what they do wrong: If you look for bad traits in your partner you will find them and focus on them, and the same goes for positive traits. Happy couples look at the positive.

Hug each other when you see each other after work: It’s a simple thing to do but how many couples actually do it?

Say “I love you” and “have a good day” every morning: You are encouraging patience and tolerance in your relationship before the busy and sometimes challenging day ahead.

Say “goodnight” every night, however you feel: This tells your partner that no matter how difficult the day has been, your focus is still on the relationship as the day draws to a close.

See how your partner’s day is going: Check in with your partner at work to see how their day is going. Be ready to be supportive if they aren’t having a good day.

Be proud to be seen with your partner: Happy partners enjoy being seen together and show it by holding hands or walking arm in arm. This isn’t showing off but it is a sign that they belong together.