The relationship is a bond of emotional connection and affection which gives a sense of satisfaction and belonging to the individuals who are connected in some or the other way.
How important is a relationship?
Many psychology studies have revealed that relationships can have a positive or negative impact on one’s physical and mental health. Strong social relationships boost the likelihood of survival by 50% regardless of age, sex, or health status according to a meta-analysis of 148 studies on mortality risk by Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, of Brigham Young University, and colleagues
(PLOS Medicine, Vol. 7, No. 7, 2010). Social connection (or disconnection) impacts health via biological processes like immune function or stress hormone regulation. Relationship quality has an impact on psychosocial aspects of health, including motivation, mood, and coping mechanisms.
How do you create a strong relationship?
If a carer is unable to meet an infant’s needs for food, warmth, comfort, and protection during the child’s earliest experiences, there is a high likelihood that an unstable relationship will develop. Some people can end a relationship after being together for many years and immediately feel unburdened. For others, the breakup of a relationship that has survived a brief period of only a
few dates can cause emotional trauma that lasts for years.
Read: How do toxic relationships affect our mental health?
A strong relationship is built on effective communication. It’s also crucial to be willing to give the other person your time and attention. Two people must be committed to one another. They need to be adaptable enough to accommodate each other’s differences, even as those change over time. In a strong relationship, partners express and receive affection, feel grateful for one another, and have open discussions about each other’s behaviour and emotions.
Signs of Fake Relationship
When someone develops a relationship for their own personal gain, without taking into account the needs and concerns of the other person, they are said to be in a fake relationship. This is often done by abusing, humiliating, or exerting power over the other person.
Love bombing
Love bombing is a toxic manipulative behaviour characterized by excessive texting or calling, grand gestures, constant contact, nonstop attention, and giving elaborate gifts early in a relationship. One can become blind from love bombing and lose their ability to see things clearly.
Narcissists who are trying to control their partner and make themselves the centre of their universe, whether consciously or unconsciously, may employ this technique. So they might make themselves the centre of attention and end up cutting off their partner from their loved ones. People typically find it difficult to leave a love-bombing relationship because it is like being in an addiction.
Future Faking
Future faking is when a person makes false promises to an individual about the future they would share together. A clinical psychologist from New York City named Dr. Sabrina Romanoff explains that a future faker has no intention of fulfilling those promises but wants the other person to believe them without questioning them.
They successfully exploit their intimate knowledge of their partner’s needs and desires by making the other person vulnerable with their deceitful promises. They act in this way in order to give the impression that they are more committed to the relationship than they actually are. Always keep in mind that future faking is nothing more than manipulation to gain something in the present when they aren’t really
thinking about the future.
Gaslighting
Gaslighting is a sneaky method of psychological control that causes the target to doubt their own judgement, memory, or reality. When they raise a concern, the subject is either changed or the gaslighter is able to pin the blame on them for something completely irrelevant. It’s very common to invalidate them by calling them overly sensitive, persuading them that they’re
unstable, and telling them that everyone around them thinks they’re crazy.
These tactics result in losing a sense of self, such that if they rethink their own judgement and perceptions of what actually happened, it almost feels as though they have lost their identity and status as an individual. This happens gradually over time by sowing seeds of doubt and uncertainty within
them.
Consistently lying, making unjustified excuses, unpredictable behaviour changes, getting physical for fun or experimentation, emotional distance, taking no effort to resolve conflicts, and isolating the partner from friends and family are some indications of a fake relationship. Fake relationships can be emotionally draining and harmful to one’s well-being.
Conclusion
Recognizing the signs early helps make informed decisions about the relationship’s future. Fake relationships can be found in friendships, romantic relationships, and other relationships as well. Being aware of these kinds of relationships is the best preventative measure for the well-being of own physical and mental health. If still seems difficult to handle, professional assistance should be taken.