The Role of an Emotional Bond in Relationships
In today’s era of dating online and having endless choices of potential partners, the art of building strong, long-term partnerships is seemingly fading away. One way to deepen the connection with your crush is to build an emotional bond.
What is the emotional bond in relationships?
Emotional bond is a complex term, and its meaning can vary depending on who you’re talking to. Generally speaking, it is a strong emotional connection that two individuals share with their partners, based on mutual trust, respect, and empathy. With an emotional bond, couples aren’t afraid to be their authentic selves and show vulnerability.
Why is an emotional bond important?
Emotional bond is the basis of a thriving, healthy relationship. It is very important with mindful dating when you’re not only looking for physical attraction but want to build a long-lasting union because:
- It creates a sense of connection and closeness between the two people. This connection serves as the basis for deep intimacy and mutual understanding.
- It encourages support during good and bad times. When couples are bonded emotionally, they are more capable of guiding each other through complicated and intense periods of life, validating their feelings and emotions, and encouraging them to go on and persevere.
- It provides a sense of security to both partners who feel more confident in each other’s feelings and commitment and, therefore, are more open and honest with one another.
- Promotes healthy communication because when people have an authentic bond, they are less likely to play games, hide things from one another, or use ill-intended communication tactics, such as silent treatment or passive aggression.
- It gives couples the tools to resolve conflicts. Everybody fights every once in a while, and when that happens, it’s crucial to not get carried away and try to hurt the person you’re shouting at, but actually come to some kind of solution together. With a strong emotional bond that’s built on trust and empathy, couples are more likely to deal with their issues in a constructive way, maintaining the relationship and not breaking up because of silly fights going out of control.
- Brings happiness and satisfaction to both partners which is very important, right? Emotional intimacy and bonding make people happy, as simple as that.
Overall, emotional bond is both a prerequisite and a symptom of great long-term relationships. It’s the glue that keeps all great things, such as trust, support, security, and connection together. Couples with strong emotional bonds are not immune from breakups and sadness, but they’re much happier together in general.
How to build an emotional bond?
Every couple can build a solid emotional bond, but it will only work if both partners are willing to do the work. A bond is not something that occurs overnight, but rather it’s a product of slow dating and investing time and energy in your partnership. It can also develop spontaneously, but there are ways to help it form in a healthy and a bit more cohesive way.
Here are the things you can do to build or enhance the emotional bond with your partner.
Talk to them
We know what you’re thinking! It’s the most basic advice ever, but hear us out. Obviously, you guys talk with each other, you’re a couple, after all. However, look back at how you’re communicating most of the time. Does it happen in front of the TV or laptop playing a show? Do you hold phones in your hands and are distracted half the time you’re chatting? This is, technically, communication, but it’s not the best way to handle it.
Make sure you truly stay one-on-one and leave your gadgets behind if you want to spend some time together and catch up. Ask meaningful questions and actually listen to what you’re being told. Offer validation, comments, advice, etc. Also, if something is bugging you, spit it out, don’t hold it inside, marinating for days, until you finally lash out on your unsuspecting partner. Handling unpleasant topics with grace is also a part of effective communication.
Be vulnerable
We all have hopes, dreams, fears, regrets, and embarrassing moments. If you feel safe and secure in your relationship, start opening up about all those things, even if you’re lowkey afraid to do so. Sure, you’re taking a risk by sharing your personal truths, but that’s how you can help your relationship move to the next step. If you’re not sure about it, test the waters with little bits and bobs, and watch how your partner reacts. Some people won’t be deserving of our vulnerability, and you might find out that your perfect match is not so perfect after all. Or, you’ll get another confirmation that the partner is legit and there for you.
Try different love languages
Have you ever heard of the five love languages? These are:
- Words of affirmation
- Acts of service
- Receiving and giving gifts
- Quality time
- Physical touch
We’re all different, and we like to express our love and receive love from others in various formats. Someone hugs and kisses their partner to show them they love them. Others love doing something for their partner, such as making them a delicious meal or helping fix something at the house.
Knowing what love language your boyfriend or girlfriend prefers, and making them happy through obliging to those love languages is a wonderful way to develop an emotional bond. It has to be sincere though, so if you’re not a big hugger yourself, don’t put on the theatrics and change your personality completely overnight. Take things slowly, and if you both value conscious dating, your partner will notice that you’re making an effort and will appreciate it.
Also, there’s a time and place for all five of the love languages. Mix and match between them to deepen the connection between the two of you. Your lover will appreciate you complimenting and verbally supporting them, as well as receiving gifts, spending quality time together, hugging, and all the other good stuff.
Have fun together
Relationships go through the honeymoon phase, and once it’s over, some people forget that they can still have a good time with their partner, do something crazy together, share a laugh, and create an unforgettable memory.
Having fun together strengthens your bond. The more good, interesting, and exciting memories you have together, the deeper your connection is. And the easier it is to handle the periods when things are not so great between you two.
Set boundaries
You’d think that boundaries are the killer of emotional intimacy and bonding because they are essentially limitations. Surprisingly though, healthy relationship boundaries can do wonders for your partnership dynamic.
First of all, boundaries help us establish what is okay and not okay for both partners. Some don’t mind if their partner flirts left and right or has ten dating chats going on with random strangers, but for others, it’s a strict no-no. Knowing those things and abiding by them will help both partners feel more secure and confident with one another. This, in turn, creates a perfect ground for a strong emotional bond.
Boundaries are also powerful tools for giving both partners space. Some of the happiest people, at least in the Once team’s observations, are those who have their own thing going on outside of the relationship. For example, your partner might want to spend all their free time with you but you have hobbies or social obligations that are important to you. And instead of you continuing with your activities, and the partner growing bitter, you can have a talk and set boundaries that will allow a more active and extroverted partner to live their life and not feel like they’re being chained to their lover.
