Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Ways to tell If Love is For Real
Everlasting Love: How Do You Know If It's for Real?
By Coulson Duerksen
Your heart races every time he calls and your palms sweat whenever he's near. You think he may be "the one." But how do you know if this is the real thing?
Dennis Neder, author of Being a Man in a Woman's World (Remington Publications, 2000), says love has three stages: the infatuation stage, the bonding stage and the familiar stage. Dr. Neder, an ordained minister and doctor of metaphysics, says it helps to consider all three stages when determining if you have the real thing.
The infatuation stage is when you can't wait to be with the other person. This is the romantic stage of love, says Dr. Neder, who warns that this is the stage when people thinks it's "the real thing." But this stage lasts only a short time.
The second stage, says Dr. Neder, is the bonding stage. During this stage you get to know the other person and you start planning aspects of your life around them. If you continue through this stage you eventually enter the third stage, or what Dr. Neder calls "the familiar phase."
In the familiar stage you've established a pattern that involves the other person. "Your lives become intertwined and merged," Dr. Neder says. "You know foundationally how the other person feels about almost everything. And interestingly," says Dr. Neder, "you also become refocused on your own life, direction and goals." Dr. Neder says this is where most professionals believe "real love" starts.
Nine Ways to Tell if Your Love Is Real
1. You feel good. A good relationship makes you feel good about yourself.
2. You look forward to spending time with your partner. You don't need to be with other people or go to events to avoid being alone together. You enjoy spending quality time together even when it's quiet.
3. You respect your partner. You hear yourself bragging about your partner. You say things like: "My husband is a really talented singer-songwriter." If you find that you're always talking about yourself, you're not focused on your partner or the relationship.
4. You're interested in what your partner thinks. You ask your partner's opinion about issues that are important to you. It's OK if he or she disagrees with you.
5. You accept your partner's quirks. Everyone has them. Even you! If your partner's quirks are endearing or tolerable, you're in good shape. If they really bother you, you should look more closely at the relationship.
6. You're able to work through your problems. It's natural to have some bumps in the relationship road to true bliss. People in healthy relationships see disagreements as a chance to learn more about their partner. However, if you're creating problems, or if you think every fight is the "big one" leading to a breakup, you should probably rethink your relationship.
7. You feel safe. You're not afraid of losing your partner.
8. You can't explain why you're together. Many people coordinate their lives so that they have to be together. But ask yourself if you're together because you truly want to be. If the answer is "yes," then you'll probably stay together. If it's "no," you're bound to have problems — if you haven't already.
9. You don't compare your partner to others. There will always be someone more beautiful, smarter or more athletic than your partner, but you don't care because you only want to be with him or her
http://health.discovery.com/fansites/dr_drew/articles/everlasting.html
By Coulson Duerksen
Your heart races every time he calls and your palms sweat whenever he's near. You think he may be "the one." But how do you know if this is the real thing?
Dennis Neder, author of Being a Man in a Woman's World (Remington Publications, 2000), says love has three stages: the infatuation stage, the bonding stage and the familiar stage. Dr. Neder, an ordained minister and doctor of metaphysics, says it helps to consider all three stages when determining if you have the real thing.
The infatuation stage is when you can't wait to be with the other person. This is the romantic stage of love, says Dr. Neder, who warns that this is the stage when people thinks it's "the real thing." But this stage lasts only a short time.
The second stage, says Dr. Neder, is the bonding stage. During this stage you get to know the other person and you start planning aspects of your life around them. If you continue through this stage you eventually enter the third stage, or what Dr. Neder calls "the familiar phase."
In the familiar stage you've established a pattern that involves the other person. "Your lives become intertwined and merged," Dr. Neder says. "You know foundationally how the other person feels about almost everything. And interestingly," says Dr. Neder, "you also become refocused on your own life, direction and goals." Dr. Neder says this is where most professionals believe "real love" starts.
Nine Ways to Tell if Your Love Is Real
1. You feel good. A good relationship makes you feel good about yourself.
2. You look forward to spending time with your partner. You don't need to be with other people or go to events to avoid being alone together. You enjoy spending quality time together even when it's quiet.
3. You respect your partner. You hear yourself bragging about your partner. You say things like: "My husband is a really talented singer-songwriter." If you find that you're always talking about yourself, you're not focused on your partner or the relationship.
4. You're interested in what your partner thinks. You ask your partner's opinion about issues that are important to you. It's OK if he or she disagrees with you.
5. You accept your partner's quirks. Everyone has them. Even you! If your partner's quirks are endearing or tolerable, you're in good shape. If they really bother you, you should look more closely at the relationship.
6. You're able to work through your problems. It's natural to have some bumps in the relationship road to true bliss. People in healthy relationships see disagreements as a chance to learn more about their partner. However, if you're creating problems, or if you think every fight is the "big one" leading to a breakup, you should probably rethink your relationship.
7. You feel safe. You're not afraid of losing your partner.
8. You can't explain why you're together. Many people coordinate their lives so that they have to be together. But ask yourself if you're together because you truly want to be. If the answer is "yes," then you'll probably stay together. If it's "no," you're bound to have problems — if you haven't already.
9. You don't compare your partner to others. There will always be someone more beautiful, smarter or more athletic than your partner, but you don't care because you only want to be with him or her
http://health.discovery.com/fansites/dr_drew/articles/everlasting.html
Labels: Ways to tell If Love is For Real
0 Comments:
« back home | Post a Comment