VIDEO: What Makes a Healthy Relationship?

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Hi!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Quick update, in case you missed it: MISSHEARDMEDIA.COM IS BACK ONLINE! After two long months of being in weird website limbo, the entire site has been rebuilt and all of the articles back online!

Unfortunately, some of our articles got lost in the internet grave yard- since we lost all of our back ups when we lost the site- and our emails. So, if you KNOW you wrote something, but don’t see it online, please email me.

Ok, so, it’s teen dating violence awareness month. We’ve been talking a lot about *un* healthy relationships, so I wanted to take a minute to highlight what a HEALTHY relationship is.

A healthy relationship doesn’t just mean a romantic one. This includes friendships too. It doesn’t mean boy-girl relationships either- LGBTQ relationships can also be healthy or unhealthy.

What makes a healthy relationship?

It really comes down to three simple things:

respect
consent
communication

In a healthy relationship, partners respect one another. They trust each other, are honest, honor each others boundaries, support and encourage each other and make each other feel good. Partners do not control how the other dresses, who their friends are, or put the other down. Partners trust each other, and give each other space to be with friends, do homework, and enjoy their hobbies- together and apart.

Partners also have consent for each step in a healthy relationship. Consent is simple: yes means yes. It is not a one time ask- because you fooled around yesterday doesn’t mean you want to fool around today. Consent is freely given- you do not force or manipulate your partner. And of course, in a healthy relationship, your partner will BACK OFF if you change your mind.

In a healthy relationship, partners communicate honestly and openly. They are not scared to say “Hey, I don’t like this.” Partners are not scared to talk to one another. They aren’t worried about mood swings or violence. In a healthy relationship, even fights are respectful- no hitting, slapping, or threatening, or breaking possessions.

Ultimately, in a healthy relationship, you feel supported, encouraged, loved, and safe! A healthy relationship is something you enjoy being in because you like the other person!

If you have questions, there are great resources out there like BreaktheCycle.org, Loveisrespect.org, That’sNotCool.com, Project Consent, and Scarleteen. You can also email me and I will point you in the right direction!