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How To Build Empathy In A Relationship? Tips That Will Help You To Bond Better With Your Partner

How To Build Empathy In A Relationship?

For a relationship to grow, you need to connect with your partner and go beyond the comfort zone of friendship. This is where empathy comes in and it only means one's ability to truly understand someone's feelings and situations associated with them.

By practising empathy one can easily relate to the other person and it can act like an adhesive when things get complicated in relationships. It is perhaps the glue to hold a relationship together. Also, it is not just about understanding someone else, it is also about using it as a motivating factor to make a change and create a difference.

Experts believe that for love to survive in a relationship, empathy becomes crucial. Without it, a lack of empathy will prevail in a relationship and therefore, either one or both the partners will feel empty and hence unloved.

To brew a healthy relationship and be more empathetic towards your partner, you need to practice the following strategies.

1. See Your Partner Through A Different Lens

Life can never be perfect and there will be experiences that will create mixed emotions. So, when this happens, understand that you and your partner can have different approaches and therefore, seeing each other through a different lens, and understanding their point of view will make them feel accepted. Imagine yourself in their shoes and it will help you to navigate through the problems faster.

2. Attend To Your Partner's Wants And Needs

Think before you act and this way you can regulate your emotions in a better way. It can start with simple steps. You can make a dish that they are fond of, take them to a place they love going to or give them a massage when they are feeling exhausted. Attending to each other's wants and needs can establish that you care for each other. This will make both partners happier and stronger in their relationship.

3. Share Your Feelings With Your Partner

Do not bottle your feelings when it comes to sharing your emotions with your partner and also understands theirs by stepping into their shoes for a moment. Research suggests that the human mirror neuron system (MNS) plays an integral role in mediating empathy. At times you become immersed in other people's grief, happiness, pain, sadness or anger while watching an adventure movie, or seeing someone you know going through a loss- whatever you feel, you owe it to mirror neurons. When someone is going through extreme emotions, empathy can work wonders and give assurance to a person that they do not have to fight a battle single-handedly.

4. Being Vulnerable Can Actually Work Here

If you and your partner meet at crossroads when it comes to expressing yourselves or opening up, then it leaves no scope for sympathy. To kindle certain emotions, being vulnerable is a must and it will also allow you both to bond better. Through this, you can figure out the emotional highs and lows of your partner. Knowing this, you can support your partner better in times of crisis or stressful situations. Further, a study has also concluded that empathy leads to altruistic rather than egoistic motivation to help.

5. Be Kind And Offer Help Whenever You Can

'To err is human' and therefore when your partner commits mistakes, do not react and make them feel small or guilty for it. Be kind to them and withhold your judgement. You can choose to respond to their mistakes calmly rather than erupting like a volcano and turning your relationship into a mess. Also, this will mean that you will be with them and have their back no matter what.

6. Communicate But Be A Good Listener

Sometimes we talk so much that we forget to listen to what the other person has to say. Listen to the emotions of your partner during communication and make an effort to notice what your partner is going through. Do not let your emotions create a barrier while listening or understanding other people's feelings. When you listen actively, it sends a message that you care. What follows next is emotional understanding and empathy.

7. Resolve Past Issues, Release Anger And Pain

Holding a grudge can harbour negative emotions. There are certain events in lives that you may wish to forget but it keeps coming back and with them comes hatred, anger, resentment and bitterness. This can block empathy and bring your relationship to a dead end by destroying the present. The best thing you can do is to let go or learn to coexist with it. This will also relieve you from unnecessary stress and allow you to bond better with your partner.