Healthy relationships require two people to communicate in order to remain connected. You can’t read your partner’s mind so it is important to convey your feelings and needs clearly and openly. It is also important to be honest and faithful in your relationship. The goal of a relationship is to make both parties feel loved, valued, and accepted.
One of the biggest problems in a relationship is when one partner is not equally committed. This can happen for many reasons. Sometimes, one partner needs more time to develop feelings or simply doesn’t want to commit yet. Other times, one partner doesn’t want a long-term relationship and is interested in dating other people. Either way, this situation can be painful. A great way to avoid this is to clarify commitment levels in the relationship by ensuring there is open communication.
Some relationships have survived despite infidelity, but many do not. Everyday threats and a waning sense of intimacy can also upend relationships. If your partner becomes critical, hostile, or defensive, these can be signs that your relationship is about to end. Even decades of marriage does not guarantee that a relationship will survive. The divorce rate has risen significantly since 1990, and it’s not surprising that relationships can be ruined by betrayal and other issues.
Relationships are complex and can be very complicated. As a general rule, relationships are characterized by associations. For example, the figure to the left shows a curvilinear relationship. The horizontal axis represents the dosage of a medication and the vertical axis is the severity of illness. As the dosage increases, the disease becomes less severe, but too high of a dosage can increase negative effects.
