What is a relationship?
A relationship is a social connection between people characterized by mutual commitment, trust, intimacy, vulnerability, love, respect, and communication. Relationships can be between friends, family members, coworkers, classmates, acquaintances, or romantic partners.
This article focuses on romantic relationships specifically.
What are internal narratives?
Internal narratives are stories that individuals tell themselves about their personal experiences, including their thoughts, feelings, beliefs, perceptions, memories, desires, goals, motivations, and interpretations. They often involve mental processes such as imagining, remembering, evaluating, planning, judging, interpreting, and predicting. Internal narratives are created through language and language structures, which means they can change based on changes in the environment or external stimuli.
How do internal narratives help sustain closeness despite minimal physical contact?
People create and maintain their internal narratives to make sense of their world, understand their experiences, guide their actions, and regulate their emotions. When two partners are separated physically, they may rely on internal narratives to feel close and connected with each other.
One partner might imagine the other's touch, smile, or voice and fantasize about being together again soon. This helps them feel closer emotionally and psychologically even when physically apart.
What happens to these internal narratives over time?
Couples develop deeper connections and shared meanings through repeated interactions, conversations, experiences, memories, values, and beliefs. As a result, their internal narratives become more complex, detailed, and nuanced, reflecting their unique relationship history and dynamic. These narratives can evolve and change as couples grow older, have children, face challenges, and navigate life transitions together.
If partners don't actively work to nurture and develop their connection, their internal narratives may become stagnant or negative, leading to disconnection and breakdown.
What internal narratives help partners sustain closeness despite minimal physical contact, and how do these narratives change over time?
Couples can maintain closeness despite limited physical contact by creating shared experiences and stories that reinforce their connection. These narratives can take many forms, such as reminiscing about past memories together, sharing current events and interests, or planning for future adventures. Over time, couples may shift their focus towards more intimate and private narratives, but still maintain the importance of external interactions and shared goals.