“No matter how painful distance can be, not having you in my life would be worse,” felt by people in long distance relationships. Being far away from your significant other is a challenge and just sucks. The distance gives us time to think, and thinking can be our own worst enemy. Luckily research by Cornell University in 2013 Research has shown long distance is healthier than traditional couples through the enhancement of intimacy. How does that work you might ask? Well, I would be more than happy to share with you the “Survival Guide for Any Long Distance Relationship.”
No, this does not mean practice pronunciation of words. This means exercising open communication and sharing your needs, desires, failures, fears, and success from your everyday life and thoughts. Get to know one another by building trust and creating a secure connection. Through sincere communication, you can build attraction by flirting and being playful with one another.
Be sure when practicing open communication address different facets of the relationship. Discuss your boundaries for when you are apart. Are you going to schedule how often you will talk or are you keeping it casual? Most importantly, where is the relationship going? If the goal is to be together till death do you part then what is the plan to be together in the same area? It is especially important to plan for the end game to be together for the two of you to have a clear understanding of what you’ll work towards.
Give yourselves something to be excited for in the future either with a mini trip, the next date night, or movie night via Skype. If you need to save up some money, then do so together. Mini goals to work towards will allow the two of you to feel that the relationship is continuously moving forward and progressing.
Being apart will force you to be more independent and will require an understanding of each other’s time and space. You’ll need to practice patience on days you may not want to because he may need you just to be there. If he does not answer your text or call right away, you will have to respect that he is unavailable. Maybe he needs his alone time because he had a stressful day. The same goes for you; you’ll need him to practice patience especially on days when you feel moody and not so good.
As much as you would like to be you are not there to show your “Babe” how much you care with a hug or surprise them with takeout food from their favorite restaurant. But it is important to find still ways to show your love even from afar. It just takes a little bit of creativity. Send him a cute card with your favorite photo of the two of you and write on the inside how much you miss him. You could surprise him with movie tickets to watch with his best bud. An incredibly romantic and surprising gesture would be to shock him with his spellbinding Treehut watch with an engraving only he would most appreciate.
You two are a team working towards the dream future and never stop reminding one another of it. Be sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, and our website!
