Key ingredients for intimacy in a relationship

Along-lasting, happy, and healthy relationship depends on intimacy. Feelings of isolation and bitterness may result from a lack of connection. Understanding intimacy can support your romantic relationship and overall well-being. In her recent Instagram post, psychoanalyst and relationship coach, Jordan Dann, suggests five key ingredients for intimacy in a relationship.

Practice assertive communication: Learning to pay attention to your experiences and identify your needs, is essential. When we express our needs and emotional reality directly to our partner, we connect better with them. Practice intentional communication: Learning practical skills such as active listening, validation, and mirroring can support our ability to listen more deeply to our partner and avoid conflict. Empathize: When we empathize we engage our emotional imagination so that we are working to understand the emotional landscape of our partner. Make daily deposits in your emotional bank: Expressing appreciation, offering behaviours that make your partner feel cared for, and showing physical affection, are ways to make such deposits.

Turn towards each other: Turning towards your partner when they make a bid for connection indicates that you are interested and invested in their subjective reality.