Relationship Advice: How To Create Emotional Closeness

If you want to move your relationship onto a closer emotional level, then you'll want to create a deeper sense of emotional closeness. Creating an atmosphere with honesty, respect and open communication can be difficult, but there are some easy steps that you can take to improve your relationship. It's not impossible to recreate the passion and intimacy that you had when you first started dating and create emotional closeness with your mate.

1. Banish Dishonesty and Silence:

In order to create emotional closeness, you need two main ingredients: openness and honesty. Without these key ingredients there is no point in trying to improve your relationship. You might feel that this is a two-way system, but it's really up to you to take the first steps towards honesty and stay dedicated to being honest even when it gets hard. Silence too is a killer when you're trying to deepen the closeness between you and your partner. There can be no communication through silence, and often silence builds a wall that you and your partner will have to break down in order to feel close again.

2. Learn to Respect Each Other

Building a relationship without respect is like trying to build a house without cement - it will soon all come tumbling down around your ears. You can show your partner how much you respect them by telling them; showing them your appreciation when they do something well; giving them a gift when they achieve something; and telling others how great your partner is publicly. Once your partner understands that you respect them, they will feel comfortable in confiding in you on a deeper level. This will lead to a deeper emotional closeness.
3. Accept Your Partner

True intimacy comes from complete understanding and acceptance of your mate - and that is not something that can be gained overnight. Accept your partner, warts and all, and don't try and change them - this will only lead to arguments and an underlying distrust and discomfort. This doesn't mean that you can't help your partner grow and improve. Once your partner knows that you will love them no matter what, they will able to reach out to you with a deeper emotional connection.
4. Cut the Arguments
Of course all couples argue, but constant arguments are unhealthy and don't lead anywhere positive. Start asking yourself if you really need to argue about the point that you are trying to make, or whether you're just arguing out of habit. Try to focus hard on your partner's positive qualities and the reasons that you love them, even if those qualities aren't apparent at the time of the argument. Try and learn to communicate problems to your partner in a calm and respectful manner. Once you manage to quell the amount of arguments you are having you'll notice that you and your partner have created an emotional closeness that makes communicating easier.

5. Make the First Move

Every relationship undergoes several phases, and people reach different levels of commitment and intimacy at different times. Don't wait for your partner to make the first move - especially when it comes to making positive changes to your relationship. Be the bigger person, the difficulty of overcoming your pride will be repaid by a much healthier and happier life. If you really mean it when you say, 'I love you' to your partner, then take the first step towards reconciliation - even when you KNOW you're in the right.