What is Emotional Intimacy?
Emotional intimacy refers to the ability to form a deep and meaningful connection with your partner so that you develop a bond that is filled with trust, respect and love. Emotional intimacy helps you build a long-lasting relationship with your partner. Intimacy is when you trust your partner deeply and you are vulnerable with them without fear of judgement and rejection. Emotional intimacy allows for empathy and understanding to flourish in your relationship because those who are emotionally intimate are good listeners, and good communicators. When there is emotional intimacy in a relationship, there are chances of improvement in the well-being of the relationship.
Why is Emotional Intimacy in a Relationship?
Emotional intimacy is vital for the survival of a healthy functioning relationship. This is because when you are emotionally intimate with your partner, you are allowing yourself to trust your partner and be vulnerable with them. A relationship which is healthy is filled with mutual trust and vulnerability. Partners who can openly express themselves to their partner without any fear of judgement and criticism, then they are likely to have a healthy and long-lasting relationship.
Here are some of the benefits of having emotional intimacy in a relationship,
- A greater sense of trust and vulnerability between you and your partner,
- Ability to receive emotional support from your partner,
- A greater sense of connection with your partner,
- Improved well-being and relationship satisfaction,
- More empathy and understanding towards your partner,
- An ability to resolve conflicts easily,
- Improved physical intimacy,
- A feeling of safety and security - emotionally and physically,
- Better ability to regulate emotions,
- Open and honest communication that allows for yours and your partner’s needs to be met.
Emotional Needs of a Woman
While these needs can differ from woman to woman, the ones mentioned below are some of the basic emotional needs of a woman that must be kept in your mind in order to have a healthy functioning relationship,
- Respect and Trust -
Every woman deserves to be given the bare minimum respect. Women must be treated equally in a relationship and their words must be valued. The independence that a woman carries in the relationship should be respected and those who undermine them often find themselves in unhealthy relationships. Along with respect, it is important as a man to make the effort to build trust with your woman. This means that you must show your partner that you are reliable and consistent. When you are honest in your actions and words, your woman will trust you more.
- Emotional Security and Safety -
Another important emotional need for a woman is the need for feeling emotionally safe and secure. This builds more on the principle of trust. When you are honest and consistent in your words and actions, your woman will feel more safe and secure around you. This way your partner will be able to share their emotions, thoughts, feelings, needs, wants and desires with you without judgement and criticism. The more safety and security in a relationship, the stronger the relationship will be.
- Reassurance and Validation -
It is normal for women to feel insecure and underappreciated from time to time. As a devoted partner, you must never snub or dismiss them from feeling their insecurities. Instead you can show them emotional support through frequent reassurance and validation. When women feel their emotions and words are validated, you will show your woman that you take them seriously. This will allow you to be there for your woman emotionally and can increase the intimacy levels between you both.
- Empathetic Listening -
Most of the time a common complaint heard from women is that people don’t give them a hearing and bombard them with advice. In order to really be there for your woman emotionally, you must become an empathetic listener. This means that you need to give your partner a hearing and offer them support before offering any advice. Empathetic listening allows you to place yourself in your partner’s shoes and see the situation from their perspective, this way your advice will also be something that will be beneficial to them in the long run.
- Affection and Love -
Affection and love are needs that are present in everyone. Everyone likes and deserves to be shown affection and love and you must not shy away from the same. Shower your partner with words of affection, or words of gratitude. If that is not your style, you can also spend quality time doing things you enjoy and help them in their work. This will go a long way in helping them feel loved and appreciated.
While these are some of the basic needs of any woman, it is always helpful to ask your woman and communicate with them honestly. This way you will make yourself more aware of your partner and will be able to provide in the ways they actually need.