Healthy Relationships
Healthy relationships can be formed between you and your friend, you and your family members, or you and your romantic partner. A healthy relationship embraces love, trust, respect, and mutual care for each other. When individuals are in a healthy relationship, they feel free to be themselves and express their thoughts and opinions without fear of retaliation from their loved one. In a healthy relationship, you will feel better about yourself and you will feel safe.
Things to keep in mind when forming a relationship:
- Healthy relationships are built on honesty, respect, trust, and communication. Evaluate your relationship based on these building blocks.
- Healthy relationships take time and effort to achieve. Both partners should work together to create a healthy relationship. Each person has to be willing to be open, grow, and change.
- You are worthy of a healthy relationship that includes honesty, respect, trust, and communication. You should not settle for a relationship that does not include these ingredients.
Recipe for a healthy relationship
- Respect: A healthy relationship embraces mutual respect and the desire to learn about the other person and their values. Respect means listening to the other person and trying to understand the other’s point of view. No one should make decisions for the other person.
- Honesty: In healthy relationships, partners are comfortable admitting to their mistakes and can expect forgiveness.
- Trust: When you trust, you can count on each other and be assured that the other person will be there for you. Trust is the best cure for jealousy.
- Communication: A strong relationship involves listening to others and really “hearing” them. Partners must communicate thoughts, feelings, wishes, requests, and needs. Good communication is the key to avoid misunderstandings.
How can you learn more?
On-Line Resources
- Bacchus and Gamma Peer Network
- Is this Love? How to Tell if Your Relationship is Good for You
- Are You Safe in Your Relationship?
Campus Experts
Student Health Services, 314.935.6666. Call to schedule an appointment with a counselor to talk about healthy relationships.
Professional
Health Promotion Services provides brochures and other resources. To request a program, contact Melissa Ruwitch at 314.935.7139 or mruwitch@wustl.edu
Peer
Uncle Joe’s Peer Counseling and Resource Center, 24 hour hotline, 314.935.5099. If you wish to speak to someone in person, visit the Uncle Joe’s office in the basement of Gregg Hall, 10pm-1am nightly.
