Making a traditional relationship work is complicated enough on its own. But knowing how to sustain a long-distance relationship can bring even greater challenges and setbacks.
In this article, I am going to give you the precise tools so that the flame of love remains latent despite those kilometers that separate them.
Do long-distance relationships work?
It is impossible to generalize in an answer that distance relationships are working or not working. The answer, as in most issues involving human feelings, is a definite “it depends.”
Distance is a complexity that can be endured when the couple actively works to support the other faces of their relationship at an unbeatable level.
On the other hand, it is going to be really difficult for a relationship to survive if apart from the distance it has other disadvantages, or if it does not find an affirmative way to face the inconveniences derived from the distance.
In other words, the answer to the question of whether long-distance relationships work is: yes, but only when there is a lot of communication, openness, and, no less essential, realistic hopes in the short, medium, and long term.
What are the main drawbacks of a long-distance relationship?
The fact of not being able to hug and kiss your partner as regularly as you would like is undoubtedly one of the disadvantages of a long-distance relationship, but it is neither remotely the only nor the most essential.
When the other person is thousands and thousands of miles from us, usually strong feelings appear:
1. Distrust
Although hoaxes are something that can appear in any kind of relationship, whether in person or remotely, we have the notion that it is simpler to deceive when we are far away, since there are fewer chances that they will discover that what we affirm is not it’s true.
If there is not good communication, it is considerably simpler for a lack of trust to appear.
2. Insecurity and jealousy
From the lack of trust derives the direct suspicion that our partner is not completely loyal to us or that he has relationships with more people.
In fact, suspecting the loyalty of the other or discovering infidelity is the most common pretext for which a distance partner ends up.
3. Infidelity
It is logical that the temptation to be unfaithful is greater when we are immersed in a long-distance relationship, simply because that relationship cannot give us the physical satisfaction that we could get by giving another person entrance.
When we recognize that feeling in ourselves, we are forced to recognize it in the other, and jealousy increases.
Lack of joint plans
Although lack of trust, jealousy, and infidelity are serious problems in long-distance relationships, people do not usually realize that the most serious inconvenience is none of the above.
When the couple is separated, but there are realistic plans for the future, such as moving together when certain 2 finish the degree or save enough, it is possible to endure each and every one of the deprivations because both know that, in a certain time, little or well, at last, they will be able to be together.
A couple of relationships that do not have at least one tentative date to meet cannot go away and will end up breaking down under the pretext of infidelity or lack of trust.
In what way to lead a successful long-distance relationship?
There are 3 elements that are never lacking in long-distance relationships that do work:
1. Communication
Communication is the cornerstone of any healthy relationship, but there are many levels of communication that go beyond the verbal.
In a remote activity, it is usual for the parties to see communication limited to text messages, which is much less rich and meaningful than face-to-face communication.
Tone and expressions often give us contextual clues about the information that the other wants to convey to us, but when these are lacking, we need to be considerably more specific about how we feel to avoid misinterpretations.
2. Trust
Trust in a long-distance relationship is an all-or-nothing issue.
When we only “half trust” our partner, it means that we do not really trust them and it really makes no sense to continue in the relationship because nothing they do or affirm is going to make us truly trust one hundred percent, as long as to a large extent it is a personal resolution.
Just as you expect you to be faithful, loyal, and well-meaning, you need to trust that your partner will be as well. This is not to say that you stop seeing red flags when they occur, but do not insist on seeing red flags all the time.
3. Plans
When you are in a “normal” relationship, there is usually no rush to make future plans at first, and it is even best not to rush. But a relationship from afar wants to say that they are so sure that they want to be with each other that they are ready to endure those miles while it lasts.
In other words, if you are not going anywhere particularly with your partner at a distance, it may be better for both of you to seek a more viable relationship close to you.
For an active one to work in this way, they need to have serious plans to get together, preferably in the short or medium term.
How to sustain a long-distance adolescent relationship?
Relationships between adolescents, especially those at a distance, are more fragile than those between adults because young people are still discovering themselves and their hopes in a courtship.
Basically, the advice for having a long-distance relationship between adults is exactly the same for adolescents, but in the case of the latter, it is necessary to give particular importance to safety, especially if the members of the couple have never seen each other. face-to-face form.
Hundreds of adolescents are victims from year to year of fraudsters and people with bad pretenses who with false profiles captivate them and even make them travel to other countries hidden from their parents.
In these cases, adolescents who fall into the trap are left at the mercy of individuals who abuse them in different ways.
If you are a minor and you are getting involved in a long-distance relationship with someone you do not know well, always inform your parents at all times and never neglect your safety.
How to maintain a long-distance relationship if you already had a face-to-face relationship before
Often couples who have a “normal” relationship must face radical changes in the lives of certain 2. To serve as an example, an opportunity to study or work in another country arises, or the family becomes move to another location for teens.
For a relationship to survive anything in this way, it is essential that both of you are quite sure that it is certainly worth the hardships and sacrifices that a long-distance relationship entails. In order for this to happen, they need to have realistic plans for the future.
Perhaps eventually they can move in together, or at least the one who left will return to the country. If that expectation does not exist, it is best to end the courtship on the best possible terms.
Remember that the younger they are, the more difficult it will be for them to sustain a long-distance relationship.
How to maintain a long-distance relationship without knowing each other?
In the other mint, there are distant relationships that sprout between individuals who have never met in person.
Every day it is more common for 2 people to establish contact through a chat, a social network, or an online application, and despite the fact that their geographical location prevents them from knowing each other, they begin to develop strong feelings for each other.
One of the main drawbacks in this kind of distance relationship is that when we only know about the other what he decides to show us, it is easier for us to be deceived or to build an overly idealized idea of his personality or feelings.
As in any other kind of long-distance relationship, the overriding factor in order for it to go is that the couple certainly has plans to meet and also interact more closely at some point.
Games for long-distance relationships
One of the most essential elements of love is the playful component, that is, the ability to play, joke, and have fun.
In long-distance relationships, coexistence is less and therefore there are fewer spaces to fool around and laugh, so it is never enough to propose certain activities and games that serve this particular purpose.
They can play to guess what they are wearing, anticipate what the other thinks, ask each other riddles and riddles, tell each other jokes, play a game online as a team, etc.
The possibilities are as endless as your inventiveness. What matters is that they never de-emphasize having fun together.
As you can see, in what way sustaining a long-distance relationship is even more complex than having a traditional relationship, but that does not mean that it cannot go if there is a will, communication, and trust in both parties.