Despite all the negativity about Long Distance Relationships or more commonly known as LDRs, they are the purest form of love. Like for most precious things in life, LDRs do not come easy! You and your partner need to work hard and never give up if you want to achieve something valuable, long-lasting and stronger than others.
LDR problems can range from trust issues to loneliness and miscommunication to demotivation or boredom to lack of physical contact. These could be relevant to those in different time zones, as well as the ones who live just some hours away. Do you fear losing a long-distance relationship? Then the following unique approaches will help you tackle the most common complications in LDRs.
What Is A True LOVE?
“Distance kills love”, you must have heard this from most of the people around you that consider it as something that can never be successful. However, it entirely depends on your perspective and willingness to get through it. Let’s simplify this matter to make it more clear!
People have several interpretations of the word ‘love’. In a world that lacks commitment, most of the people consider true love to be all about materialism and a feeling they cannot possess when being at a distance. Sadly, they think of everything except the spiritual bond that it actually is. It has several definitions that are all around the idea of a strong and long-lasting affection, which gives happiness to the lovers.
Now that you know what true love is, is there any reason to think that all LDRs would fail? Absolutely not! A long-distance couple experiences various things like any other couple, but sometimes these can be more intense than usual, so LDRs require a lot of patience, trust, communication, compromises, strength, and willingness. So, here are the best five tips for successful relationships even if you are far from each other.
Communicate Efficiently & Effectively
Everyone’s life is a bumpy journey with happiness and sadness as ups and downs. During all times, your partner is the first person you want to share things, thoughts, and experiences with. Whether something bad or good has happened, it is essential to be there for each other. Not only is this a choice, but it is an important responsibility to stay up-to-date with each other’s life. No matter how petty your experiences are, make sure your partner is aware of them because it helps to develop trust.
Implementation: Most communication or at least arguments should be sorted out over calls (audio or video) and not texts. Being at a distance makes you vulnerable to misunderstandings and more fights. Gratefully, we live in the 21st century, where we can talk to anyone in any part of the world as if they are right next to us.
It is a good idea to video call whenever there is a risk of arguments and it is not possible to at least audio call or send voice notes to ensure that the correct message is conveyed. Another tip is to set aside a time to catch up daily if you have extremely busy lives.
Take Care Of Your Own & Your Partner’s Mental Health
This is a vital aspect because mental health can be adversely affected as a result of stress, anxiety, depression, and other issues from your LDR and/or individual lives. If you ignore your mental health, you can possibly affect your relationship and risk your partner’s wellbeing as well. For effective communication, it is crucial for both of you to be in a healthy mental state and not let your mental health worsen your usual and natural arguments, which can escalate into real problems in no time. Even if your poor mental health is a result of your LDR issues, you cannot work on them till you feel better. Common problems include: not being able to see your loved one for a prolonged time, having doubts on your partner’s loyalty, feeling insecure, doubting yourself to be insignificant in their life, or simply the fear of breaking up because of people’s pessimistic opinions about LDR.
Implementation: There are plenty of ways to boost your mental health like seeking help from therapists, attending workshops, venting out to your loved ones, indulging in your favourite activities/hobbies, being a part of support groups or taking medication. However, there is a secret ingredient to a happy life’s recipe called Cannabidiol (CBD), that most people are not aware of.
CBD is a chemical compound that constitutes for 40% of cannabis plant extract and has shown to effectively fight against depression, anxiety and stress by interacting with the brain’s serotonin receptors. It exists in many different types of CBD products, but most commonly exists as oil or tincture. Interestingly, CBD is very different and safe from other cannabis products that make you high. This makes CBD stand out for its multiple benefits and negligible side effects.
It is incorporated into various products that can be easily added to your lifestyle in the form of daily capsules, drinks like coffee or water, edibles like chewing gums, chocolates, or gummies, bath and body products or different concentrations of CBD oil. This makes it simpler for you to develop a habit of using it as your stress reliever and fighting against all sorts of mental health problems.
Due to ongoing and recent studies on this compound, people are not aware of how this secret compound can do wonders. It has several other benefits ranging from strengthening of the immune system, regulating sleep quality to pain relief and better skin condition, which can be supplementary advantages to its usage for improvement in your health. To ensure minimal side effects and your satisfaction, make sure to consult your doctor or health care provider to prescribe the appropriate dosage and CBD products for your individual conditions.
Send Over Gifts/Little Treats Frequently
While presents on Christmas, Birthday, and Valentine’s Day show your person how much you care about him or her, sometimes, a thoughtful gift might help to get through the most extended periods apart, remind you how you love each other, and reinforce this bond until you are able to be reunited again.
You don’t have to wait for occasions to make your loved one feel special. Again, thanks to the technology that it is effortless to send gifts across the oceans. Presents do not have to be expensive, and they can be as simple as flowers or chocolates or even a cute personalised card that you can send to express your love.
Implementation: Start your research on gifts in your loved one’s city at least ten days prior. Either buy gifts and send them via courier services or simply rely on online gift delivery websites that do not include receipts and offer customised packing/messages. You can find the most creative gifts just while sitting in your room, such as customised cakes, doughnut bouquets, chocolate bouquets, name printed accessories. If you prefer to spend more, check out the amazing new LDR lamps and bands!
Plan Visits
Relying on technology is great, but you should plan visits depending on your distance to maintain motivation and excitement. Visits can be surprises or planned mutually. You can even discuss a future trip together to keep your LDR alive and kicking. Either way, it would make you both feel extremely happy because these occasional meetups would be your light at the end of the tunnel. And since you are travelling already, organising a trip to a new destination or place might be better than visiting each other at home.
Implementation: It will cost you a lot to visit if you are countries apart, so make sure to start saving every month, as early as you can, no matter how less or more. This will ease your work, and your plan will most likely be successful. Keep this as a surprise from your loved one and reveal it when you have enough savings to fly, which will make them feel the luckiest. If you are just some hours away in the same country, try to plan surprise visits frequently, and this can help clear your doubts as well.
Go Out On LDR Dates
People struggle to believe that you can actually go out on dates in LDRs and some might make fun of you for this, but it doesn’t matter as long as it makes you feel happy. You can plan lunch/dinner dates, movie dates and even shopping dates! Choose any activity that you both like to hang out together while apart.
Implementation: Set a time first. For people in different corners of the world, this can be challenging, but there is always a way out. For example, if your partner’s dinner time is your breakfast time, you can still have food together and accompany your loved one during their meals. Eating at home is pretty easy, but the real challenge is eating out on a video call. This might be easily solved by choosing a place which is less crowded or alternatively, take-out your favourite food and have it at a beautiful viewpoint. This leads to the idea of spending quality time together by choosing viewpoints in each other’s city for sunset/sunrise sightseeing. By now, it must be clear how shopping can be done together, and this will portray how you involve each other in your small and big life decisions. Lastly, movie nights can be easily planned out by choosing a movie that excites you both and can be played on Netflix party or by using the same weblinks. You can watch it at the same time on your computers or tablets while talking to each other via video call on your phones. This is how you can discuss and watch a movie together despite being oceans apart.
Now the next time someone tells you to give up on your LDR, adopt these unique tips to keep yourself optimistic and motivated!
