Romance isn’t just about a box of chocolates on Valentine’s Day. A satisfying relationship can also make people feel happy and healthy. So if dating that special someone, avoid stalking their ex on Facebook, keeping feelings bottled up and splitting the double cheeseburger every night. These (and 17 other) bad habits could make a great relationship take a turn for the worse.
Save the Spark — Your Action Plan
1. Trying to improve him/her. News flash: There’s no such thing as a perfect person. So don’t expect unrealistic changes. Reminding him or her to make the bed is one thing — trying to change radically change shyness or anxiety is another and could be ignoring the underlying causes for those issues in the first place.
2. Finding faults with the fam. The parents may be harder to handle than your significant other. But even if there’s some clashing of heads, don’t focus on the family’s faults. Getting criticism from family members can make people feel depressed and hostile — which means some tense holiday dinners. Besides, the situation can’t be worse than what Gaylord went through.
3. Constant PDA. Getting it on in public may not only make bystanders uncomfortable, it may also compensate for a lack of real communication. Stick to hand-holding and quick kisses, and save the rest for the bedroom (or the cell phone?).
4. Fighting in public. As if PDA weren’t bad enough. Arguing in public can embarrass the couple and make everyone around feel awkward, too. Talk it out in private, please.
5. Never fighting. Love isn’t all good, all the time. Disagreements are bound to happen, and arguments can be a healthy part of a relationship. Never having conflict may make compromise impossible. Just don’t make fighting an all-day affair.
6. Not talking it out. If something is wrong, the other person probably can’t read your mind. When a problem comes up, speak up at the right time…
Read more: Everyday Health
