[CHAT] Romantic Relationships
Romantic relationships can be a wonderful and rewarding experience and sometimes they can be tough and difficult. There's many reasons someone might choose to be in a relationship and many places where you can meet people and build a relationship.
Relationships can also end, and sometimes those break-ups can be tough. But that doesn't mean it's the end. Check out this article here on break-up coping tips before the chat.
Whether you’re happily single, happily taken or looking to find someone, come join us on Monday 23rd July at 7:30pm AEST for a chat on romantic relationships!
Hello and welcome to tonight's chat! (10 minutes early, oops!) It's all about strategies for dealing with bullies and things we can do to help ourselves and others!
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Alrighty everyone, now is time for our GR on Romantic Relationships! Don't forget to check the post above for some important information 🙂
@keezeik @Birdeye @DirtWitch @DruidChild @litgym @scared01 (no pressure to join if you don't want to :))
Our first question of tonight is (10 minutes late because the forums don't like me tonight):
1. What are some pros and cons of being in a romantic relationship?
sorry im a little late @N1ghtW1ng
Q1: I think some pros of a romantic relationship is they can make you happier, I’m not saying you should rely on this relationship to make you happy because usually that’s not the case.
i think a con is that you could rely too much on this relationship and make it your world and then the breakup could come around and really hurt you.
Relationships can definitely make people happier, which can be a good thing for sure 🙂 Break ups can be tough when a relationship is heavily relied upon too. These are some awesome points you've shared 🙂
1. What are some pros and cons of being in a romantic relationship?
Pros: having someone there for you. A shoulder to lean on. An automatic friend at any events or gatherings. Romance feelings... 😛
Cons: dealing with opposing opinions. The parents/meeting family (although this could also be a pro, more family!) Not having the right feelings. Being "tied down"
(I've never been, or have any desire to be, in a romantic relationship so this one is tricky for me)
The second question is:
2. How can being in a relationship affect your day-to-day life?
Q2: It could genuinely make you a little happier and having that person to be around and laugh with. There will be those up and downs but have that one person by your side can mean so much. It kind of opens another window to your life of that makes sense. Which means you’ll have some changes but they’ll be good changes. Not that I really have much experience in a proper “romantic relationship”.
Those are some great ideas @litgym 🙂 It can be hard to think of things if you haven't been in a relationship yourself, but there's so much media and romance in the world it's not hard to know some of things that can be affected.
Time for question 3:
3. What are some ways that you can make sure that you're taking care of yourself while in a relationship?
Q3: Some ways to make sure you’re taking care of yourself is to put yourself first. You need to still put your needs first for mental, emotional and physical reasons. Of course you need to look after your partner but you need to be happy instead of pushing yourself away.
Time for my answer 😄
What are some ways that you can make sure that you're taking care of yourself while in a relationship?
Same as the above, meeting your own needs. Also remembering that if you need space or something that your partner might not need or want, that's okay. Sometimes we need to spend some time alone to deal with things or recover from intense feelings and you're not being selfish if you need to do that.
(I feel like mentioning my brother here with such a poor emotional understanding that he feels he needs to be near his girlfriend 24/7. If that's what you need, then fine. But if your partner doesn't want that then you need to respect them too)
@N1ghtW1ng your response is so true. You need to give your other partner space is they want it and you have to respect that.
With my answer posted it's time for the last question of tonight (it's a short one tonight :P)
Question four:
4. If you are going through a break-up, what are some ways that you can make sure that you're taking care of yourself?
Hi all! Sorry I'm late!
Re: question 4 on break ups: I've honestly found the best way is to spend time with people who will love and validate you and show that love and validation through ice cream and hugs 😛
Q4: Definitely some self care is needed during a break up ! Also let yourself be sad but also don’t be too sad that actually affects you so much. You want to think it is for a reason even if it’s so hard.
Do something you enjoy to take your mind off it 🙂
My turn 😛
If you are going through a break-up, what are some ways that you can make sure that you're taking care of yourself?
Along with all the points already mentioned, self-care being a super important one. But also reaching out to peers and other supports you have to help you get through this time. When my sister broke up with her boyfriend, she got into (for lack of a better word) a "funk" but we (my mum :P) pulled her out of it and she kept going and now she's getting married soon. No matter how many break ups you go through, there's always a tomorrow.
And... this is so important I want to scream it...
Romantic relationships are not the be-all end-all of life! Soulmates might exist, they might not. You might fall in love, you might not. Romantic relationships are not the only kind of strong, positive relationships that exist. If you have a best friend and you never get a boy/girl friend, so what? BEST FRIENDS COUNT!
Screaming it again:
Platonic (i.e best friends, etc.) are just as good as romantic relationships!
(I get annoyed at all the romance on TV, can you tell? :P)
@N1ghtW1ng totally!! i can’t agree more. I’m logging off for tonight but great chat tonight 🙂 I’ll definitely join the next one 😉 hope you guys have a great rest of the night and I’ll check in tomorrow
I'm sorry I missed this one @N1ghtW1ng but you did a brilliant job!! 🙂 (As you always do!)
Thank you to @litgym and @DirtWitch for joining me tonight! It was awesome having you both (however brief :P) on tonight.
See you around the forums!! 😄
@N1ghtW1ng thank you for hosting! I keep forgetting about time zones or else I would have tuned in earlier so my bad 
@N1ghtW1ng absolutely! In terms of strength and length of commitment, all the best relationships in my life are platonic and it sucks that romantic relationships are often idealised as the 'best' form of love
