Healthy Relationships
What is a Healthy Relationship?
A healthy relationship is created and maintained when each person in the relationship engages in the following behaviors. Both people in the relationship must use these positive behaviors to make it healthy! Below are examples of healthy versus unhealthy relationship and behavior characteristics.
| Communication | Shares thoughts and ideas, uses respectful language and gestures even in disagreement |
| Trust | Is honest and accountable to partner, is dependable and believes partner |
| Connection | Has support from friends and family, feels there are other people to rely on besides partner |
| Balance | Has equal decision-making power, is able to “give” and “take” in the relationship |
| Safety | Is emotionally supportive and encouraging, is peaceful |
An unhealthy relationship develops when one person uses the following behaviors to control their partner’s actions. It only takes one person using the following behaviors to make a relationship unhealthy, destructive and potentially dangerous.
| Jealousy | Calls his/her partner over and over again, gets angry when partner spends time with other people |
| Emotional Abuse & Victim Blaming | Uses derogatory language to describe partner, consistently finds fault with partner, makes partner feel bad about himself/herself |
| Isolation | Makes all the decisions in the relationship, persuades partner to give up activities he/she enjoys |
| Coercion | Ignores partner’s wishes or needs, manipulates partner |
| Physical & Sexual Abuse | Forces partner to have sex or do sexual things, grabs or pushes partner or throws/breaks objects |
