Each pop in comes with different expectations, benefits, and challenges.
Interpersonal relationshipsare a vital part of life.
They can range from close and intimate to distant and challenging.
Verywell / Laura Porter
Some of these are positive relationships that help us feel a sense of belonging.
Others can be less helpful, or may even have negative effects on our mental health and well-being.
What Is a Relationship?
A relationship is any connection between two people, which can be either positive or negative.
People engage in many different types of relationships that have unique characteristics.
Platonic relationships involve closeness and friendship without sex.
Sometimes, platonic relationships can change over time and shift into romantic or sexual relationships.
Examples might include a friends-with-benefits or a friends-to-lovers situation.
Romantic Relationships
Romantic relationshipsare those characterized by feelings of love and attraction for another person.
While romantic love can vary, it often involves feelings of infatuation, intimacy, and commitment.
Experts have come up with a variety of different ways to describe how people experience and express love.
For example, psychologist Robert Sternberg suggests three main components of love: passion, intimacy, and decision/commitment.
Romantic love, he explains, is a combination of passion and intimacy.
Romantic relationships tend to change over time.
Over time, these feelings start to lessen in their intensity.
People develop deeper levels of emotional intimacy and understanding as the relationship matures.
Romantic relationships often burn hot at the beginning.
It is also common for both partners to be mutually co-dependent on each other.
Both may take turns enacting the caretaker role, alternating between the caretaker and the receiver of care.
Characteristics of acodependentrelationship include:
Not all codependent relationships are the same, however.
Codependent relationships are co-constructed.
While one partner might seem more “needy,” the other partner might feel more comfortablebeingneeded.
Casual Relationships
Casual relationshipsoften involve dating relationships that may include sex without expectations of monogamy or commitment.
However, experts suggest that the term is vague and can mean different things to different people.
Casual relationships are often common among young adults.
As long as casual relationships are marked by communication and consent, they can have severalsex-positivebenefits.
Consent and communication are key.
There tends to be astigmasurrounding non-monogamous relationships.
The likelihood of engaging in an open relationship also depends on gender and sexual orientation.
Open relationships are a form of consensual non-monogamy.
Such relationships often leave you feeling ashamed, humiliated, misunderstood, or unsupported.
In other cases, one person in a relationship may behave in ways that create toxic feelings.
This doesn’t just create discontentmenttoxic relationships can take a serious toll on your health.
Toxic relationships can be stressful, harmful, and even abusive.
If you are in a toxic relationship with someone in your life, work on creatingstrong boundariesto protect yourself.
Talk to a mental health professional or consider terminating the relationship if it is causing you harm.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
Defining your relationship doesn’t have to mean committing for the long term.
you’re free to take steps to improve your relationships with other people.
Two helpful strategies are to let others know you care and show your appreciation.
Social relationships are important, and they come in all different types.
American Psychological Association.Friends wanted.
2012;26(1):1-10. doi:10.1037/a00259
