When we find someone amazing and fall in love, we tend to get butterflies in our stomachs. It also influences our judgment, leading us to sometimes do strange things. We may relocate to new cities, change careers, and sometimes push people away unknowingly. While traveling to new places to be with your loved one can be adventurous and intriguing, being away from friends and family can be detrimental. Friends and family are core and can support you in your romantic relationship in many ways. Below are five key reasons why you need friendships outside your relationship.
Relationship Well-Being
Keeping friendships is critical for both your relationship and yourself as a person. Sure, your friends provide you with a non-romantic role, but they understand areas of your life, profession, or background that your couple may not. Maintaining other sources of intellectual and emotional involvement will give you new concepts and enthusiasm to reintroduce into your relationship. It provides you with topics to discuss and discover together, which will ultimately make your bond with your couple even stronger.
Friendships Allow for Privacy
When it comes to relationships, we all have issues, and sometimes those issues can be about your partner. Don't get us wrong – having issues is normal, and expressing these feelings is a fantastic way to cool down. However, for you to completely get things off your chest, you’ll sometimes need loyal friends to whom you can open up without worrying that everything you say will be relayed to your partner. Having friends who act as sounding boards for guidance, or people who understand your sorrow and laugh with you, is pretty important!
Friendships Allow for Privacy
When it comes to relationships, we all have issues, and sometimes those issues can be about your partner. Don't get us wrong – having issues is normal, and expressing these feelings is a fantastic way to cool down. However, for you to completely get things off your chest, you’ll sometimes need loyal friends to whom you can open up without worrying that everything you say will be relayed to your partner. Having friends who act as sounding boards for guidance, or people who understand your sorrow and laugh with you, is pretty important!
Keeping Codependency at Bay
When you feel that your spouse is all you have, your relationship can soon become toxic. This is because you’ll be confined to this one person so much that there’ll be no one else you can socialize or talk to. Relying on your partner for almost everything in life can prove to be stressful to you and to them too.
Situations like these create a state of codependency, as you’ll begin to believe that you cannot do anything without your partner. At this point, you’ll begin to believe that you must do everything in your capacity to keep your partner from leaving you, which could lead to toxic behaviors. Because of this, it’s especially crucial to have other support systems (friends or family) to help you out when you need it.
When you feel that your spouse is all you have, your relationship can soon become toxic. This is because you’ll be confined to this one person so much that there’ll be no one else you can socialize or talk to. Relying on your partner for almost everything in life can prove to be stressful to you and to them too.
Situations like these create a state of codependency, as you’ll begin to believe that you cannot do anything without your partner. At this point, you’ll begin to believe that you must do everything in your capacity to keep your partner from leaving you, which could lead to toxic behaviors. Because of this, it’s especially crucial to have other support systems (friends or family) to help you out when you need it.
Friendships Help You Pursue Your Interests
Your spouse can be your roommate, intimate partner, best friend, companion, and confidant. Still, each of you has your own interests, and it’s perfectly normal to enjoy them individually! For example, if your spouse enjoys basketball and you don't, you'd probably be delighted if they bring their friend instead of you to a game. This mindset applies to your own interests and hobbies.
If you really love hiking and your spouse doesn't, having friends to hike with you is a better option than killing your favorite hobby just because your spouse isn't interested. Having a safe space with friends to enjoy your favorite hobbies without your partner feeling “left out” will definitely help to reduce stress in your relationship.
If you really love hiking and your spouse doesn't, having friends to hike with you is a better option than killing your favorite hobby just because your spouse isn't interested. Having a safe space with friends to enjoy your favorite hobbies without your partner feeling “left out” will definitely help to reduce stress in your relationship.
Friendships Give You Different Perspectives
Let's face it: sometimes your partner will not tell you everything as it is, for one reason or another. They may hide certain things to protect your feelings and not hurt you. To be fair, sometimes we don't positively accommodate criticism or feedback from the people we love – even if it is non-judgemental. To tackle this, it's important to have friends who can share different feedback and allow us to look at issues from an enlightened, fresh perspective.
Let's face it: sometimes your partner will not tell you everything as it is, for one reason or another. They may hide certain things to protect your feelings and not hurt you. To be fair, sometimes we don't positively accommodate criticism or feedback from the people we love – even if it is non-judgemental. To tackle this, it's important to have friends who can share different feedback and allow us to look at issues from an enlightened, fresh perspective.