Tips for long distance relationships – Optimizing communication

You’ve probably heard that communication is the cornerstone of any relationship. Well double that and multiply it by 3 and that’s how important communication is in your long distance love. Depending on the distance, many couples may only see each other on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. Learning to communicate will not only benefit you in closing the distance, but will also help you once you and your long distance love finally get together.

Communication is more than talking; it is being able to connect on a deeper level of understanding. Think of it like lasagna and the ‘communication’ is the noodles; there are so many other good things about lasagna that rely on the noodles to hold everything together. I guess what I mean is without the basis of the communication, what is your LDR actually based on? If you cut out the communication part of your long-distance relationship, all that’s left are memories, and that situation would be almost the same as dating someone six feet under. Nobody wants that.

So put your butt in the saddle, grab your kidneys, and really work on your communication. Here are some important focal points of long-distance love communication.

Have you ever lost touch with an old friend, and then when you see them again, you have to spend hours catching up on what happened in both of your lives? Conversely, have you ever made it a point to keep in touch with a friend you rarely see, so that when you finally get together it’s like you never missed a beat? You want your long distance love to be like that second scenario. If you and your partner were in the same city, you would no doubt be spending most of your time together, talking about, well, everything. Why should a long distance relationship be any different? it shouldn’t be Constant long-distance communication is crucial to the success of the relationship.

Couples who have strong communication skills can handle arguments and conflict better than couples who don’t know how to communicate, and WE ALL KNOW there will be arguments. If you are questioning something your partner has said or done, instead of drawing your own conclusions and getting upset over nothing, a good communicator will simply ask what you meant. Being “real” is a good practice because it can be difficult for those in a long-distance relationship to bounce back from misunderstandings because distance can amplify otherwise trivial tension.

Another “great” when it comes to communication is explaining how you feel. This can be a little more difficult for the men involved (stereotypes, whatever) since we don’t have much practice conveying emotion, but it’s something you should work on together. Communicating feelings is imperative and might actually be easier since you probably won’t be doing it face to face. Learn to read your partner to try to pick up on their feelings and find a mature way to ask about them. If you feel the need to share your feelings, be sure to think about how you will convey them and try to keep the emotion out.

News Flash: Long distance relationships are hard. There is no hand to squeeze when you can’t find the words. Remember that long-distance relationships are much more difficult to communicate, and again, don’t get too depressed. It’s hard. Take a break. Long distance love is quite an undertaking. There will be problems, there will be ups and downs. You will get angry for nothing, you will probably take it out on your partner. These things happen. Dust yourself off and communicate things correctly. Think about how you would have preferred to say things the first time. If you mess up your communication, be an adult, admit your fault, apologize, communicate how it should have been, and move on. I really hope this helps clear the air in communication. In case of doubt; Let it go. Clean that air.