Your Ultimate Guide To A Long Distance Relationship: Pros And Cons

Being in a relationship can already come with its own challenges and commitments. Being in a long distance relationship can come with its own sets of challenges that may make or break your relationship depending on how committed each person is. Entering a long distance relationship can teach you a lot. It teaches you whether or not they were the right person. It can teach you how to better communicate. You can learn how to grow as a person by yourself. But it’s important to remember that going long distance comes with both pros and cons. Here’s a guide to dealing with a long distance relationship.

The Pros

Nobody ever wants to get into a long distance relationship. Not seeing the person you like, or perhaps love honestly sucks. That being said, there are some positive things you can learn from this experience and it may just make your relationship stronger.

It shows your level of commitment

Committing to a long distance relationship shows that both people are in it for more than just looks. Although physical attraction does play an important part in any healthy relationship, you’re both also in it for the person and their personality. If someone agrees to be in a long-distance relationship with you, it’s very likely that they’re looking for something that’s long-term and not purely physical.

It builds trust

A long distance relationship requires trust. Realistically you can’t have constant contact with your significant other and this can make it difficult to make sure that they’re being faithful to you. This means that you’ll have to learn to place trust in one another and this will help your relationship grow. And if you don’t trust each other at the beginning, this is an opportunity to learn to trust one another if you want the relationship to work.

Stronger communication and bond

If you’re in a long distance relationship then you’ve likely developed a pretty strong bond thanks to all the conversations, text messages and Skype dates. Even if you’re separated by distance and not in the same room, thanks to today’s technology you can still be a big part of each other’s lives.

It’s even better the next time you spend time together

Being in a long distance relationship with your significant other makes you appreciate all the times you get to spend together. Whether it’s daily calls and chats or weekend visit and holidays, the time you spend with them will feel even more special.

The Cons

Of course, nothing is ever perfect. While there are positives to everything, there can also be a lot of obstacles for you to face. There are cons to long distance relationships that can end up hurting you a lot. So it’s important to recognise any signs and learn how to deal with it.

If you’re both very physical people

Lack of physical intimacy can be a big problem in a long distance relationship. It’s important to have a meaningful relationship but not getting to hug and kiss them when you’re an affectionate person can be difficult. A bigger problem can arise if one of you starts looking for intimacy elsewhere while in a committed relationship.

In this scenario, it’s important to remind yourself why you’re with your current partner. What do you love about them? Why are you committed? Would you regret throwing what you have with them away? Remind yourself why you fell in love with them and why a short fling is nothing in comparison.

You don’t always know what they’re up to

In a long distance relationship, you can’t always know what your partner is up to. If there’s no trust, huge problems and issues of insecurity can come into play. Small white lies and jealousy can easily spiral out of control and it’s important to be transparent as possible for the relationship. Working through trust issues takes efforts from both people who need to be willing to rebuild that trust and prioritise honesty.

Communication can be hard

If you’re bad at communicating then a long-distance relationship probably isn’t for you. Communication will consist mostly of texts and calls, which means that misunderstandings are more likely to happen, resulting in arguments. Once the tension sets in it can be hard to resolve the problem, especially since you can’t do it in person. In this case, it’s important that both of you communicate your feelings clearly to one another so that you can both have an understanding and find a compromise.

Loneliness and missing them

It’s easy to feel lonely when you’re missing your significant other. Even more so when you see other people going on dates and making long-term plans and commitments with their partners. To get over this feeling it’s important that both of you make small gestures to remind the other that they still care. This could be sweet messages, small gifts and small reminders throughout the day that they’re on your mind. You can also take this time to focus on yourself and grow as a person. Start a new activity, commit to a new series, go somewhere new or use this as a chance to spend more time with friends.