Your long distance relationship could strive well if you are ready to manage the distance without having unrealistic expectations. Most times, we can’t help who we fall in love with. Love happens without a formula. And when it does, distance threatens to create a wall of separation between the two parties.
No one goes into a relationship hoping it will be long distance forever. So, if you suddenly find yourself trying to cope with the distance in your relationship, it calls for concern. You may often have to rely on communication to foster the relationship. Has your long-distance relationship been tougher on you than you initially thought? It could be hard to resolve issues requiring both parties’ presence.
But that shouldn’t deter you. This guide will reveal practical tips to help you manage and strengthen your long distance relationship. Perhaps, in the future, there will be no distance between you and someone you love so much. So, let’s get started.
Discuss Communication Needs
Ensure you discuss how you want to communicate aside from text messages from the onset. Even if you didn’t set any rules initially, it is never too late. You can take this crucial step to strengthen the long-distance relationship.
Set rules on how frequent you communicate and the medium of communication. You must find a compromise now than have issues later. Research has shown that the communication gap is one of the significant challenges people face in long-distance relationships.
Most times, one party may want to communicate often, but the other party may find the timing inappropriate. This is mostly the case when both parties live in different countries with different time zones.
Respect Your Meeting Times Always
Unless in circumstances beyond your control, one of the best ways to strengthen your long-distance relationship is to always respect your meeting times and location. Missing in-person dates repeatedly isn’t the best thing for the health of your relationship and could make your partner lose trust in you.
Your partner may be too far to help out with things when certain issues arise, but setting appropriate meeting times could help ease out the effects of distance in the relationship.
Maintain Your Independence
Although you might feel excited to spend quality time with your partner whenever you meet, the distance pangs may set in too soon when they leave. This is where you must remember that you are still who you are despite their absence.
You must often communicate if you don’t see each other for months. But if you feel constantly tied to a phone or app, you might find solace in close friends and families. Engaging in healthy activities alone and getting busy with your time might also help resolve the feeling of loneliness. As much as you want to be close to your partner despite the distance, it’s important not to lose your sense of independence. You have a life to live outside your long-distance relationship.
Set Common Goals
Besides deciding how frequently you communicate and see each other, you must set shared goals with your partner if you see a future with them. This includes setting long-term goals beyond living under the same roof in the future.
You may decide to start a new project together or save up for an event. However, having at least three long-term goals with your partner could go a long way toward strengthening the relationship.
But setting common goals is not enough. You also have to jot them down and roll out actionable plans that set the goals in motion. This could also address communication issues in the relationship, as working towards these goals requires frequent communication.
Don’t Forget Intimacy
If you and your partner are already intimate, maintaining intimacy could be the biggest challenge in your long distance relationship. One or both parties may struggle with a lack of intimacy during the weeks or months you stay apart.
Thanks to technology, you can still maintain intimacy without physical contact with your partner. Here are some things you can do to connect intimately with your partner.
- Send erotic text messages and emails regularly.
- Talk about sex and what you will like to try out when you eventually meet again.
- Swapping sexy photos using a secured app
- Using video chat to communicate regularly
Before you try out this stuff with your partner, you might ask them if they are comfortable sharing their intimacy via such methods since not everyone is comfortable with digital intimacy. Although they might initially feel shy, sharing such an awkward moment might help build intimacy in your long-distance relationship.
Respect Their Time
Long distance relationship may tempt you to do things that your partner might frown on or actions that show you have little value for their time. To strengthen your long distance relationship, you must respect your partner’s time as much as you want them to respect yours.
This means you should only talk when you have something to say. Just because you can’t see your partner regularly doesn’t mean you must call them daily.
Talking only when necessary will help you make the most of your time together, and the other partner may appreciate you more. But, on the other hand, you don’t want a situation where your partner begins to avoid your calls or fails to reply to your text messages because you were too much that they got tired of it all!
Make Every Visit Worthwhile
You must make every visit count if you see your partner only a few times in a month or year. This is not the best time to spend your time together with your phone all the time. Strengthen your long distance relationship by seizing the moment to do chores together.
This is particularly helpful when you live together each time the other party visits. Aside from chores, you could visit the movies together and watch your favorite series. Above all, see every visit as an opportunity to get to know your partner, what they like and the possibility of a future together.
Don’t Hide Your Feelings and Emotions
Keeping secrets that ought to be shared is not safe for the health of your long distance relationship. You mustn’t make decisions alone. Try to involve your partner and let them know how their input matters a lot to you. This will make them feel appreciated and loved despite the distance between you.
Also, avoiding serious discussions each time you meet your partner could lead to problems. Therefore, never bottle up your feelings. Instead, speak up and encourage your partner to do the same. The absence of body language or physical contact that characterizes most long-distance relationships makes it easy to misread a message from your partner or misunderstand their intentions.
By talking openly about your feelings, you will “clear the air” quickly and avoid circumstances that could lead to a breakup.
It’s easier to strengthen a long distance relationship than fixing it after some issues have escalated and your partner is no longer interested in the continuity of the relationship. See our tips for fixing a broken relationship.
Don’t Forget to Share Gifts
Sharing ideas for strengthening a long distance relationship wouldn’t be complete without revealing this tip. It’s a sad moment each time you have to leave each other after a visit. But with gifts, you could make their memories linger behind for a long time.
Developing the habit of sharing gifts with your partner could go a long way to “keep your presence” in their lives even though you are physically absent.
Before giving gifts, ensure you find out what your partner loves and would like to have from a loved one. This could be anything from flowers, chocolates, and clothing to their favorite perfume. Most importantly, you should have a heart for giving without expecting much in return.
Learn To Trust Your Partner
Trust is a crucial issue in any relationship. Undoubtedly, long distant relationships give so much room for mistrust and doubts about your partner’s loyalty. Since you don’t see each other regularly, it’s easy for your mind to wander off and think they are probably cheating on you with someone else. Most times, some of these thoughts might be baseless and unverifiable.
Therefore, it would help you remind yourself regularly why you should trust them. Then, as much as possible, try to ward off feelings of uncertainty and give your partner the benefit of the doubt in cases where you don’t want to jump to a conclusion without significant evidence.
There is no harm in recognizing your feelings of insecurity. But you can do better if you learn to manage them instead of dwelling on negative thoughts.
Final Thought
Every relationship may face issues threatening its continuity, whether it’s a long distance relationship or not. If you are getting bored with different issues in your long distance relationship, the tips in this guide could help you deal with them and strengthen the bond you share with your partner.
Perhaps, in the future, you or your partner’s circumstances might change, and distance will no longer be a challenge.
