Relationships have a huge impact on our happiness, well-being, confidence, and longevity. Healthy relationships allow us to grow as people and thrive within the world around us. Yet, it can often seem as though modern dating actively works against the building of genuinely strong connections. Meeting new people online can feel more like a dopamine rush than a road to commitment. Modern, tech-driven dating often leaves singles feeling more isolated than ever.
Matchmaking plays a key role in building long-lasting connections because it is based upon traditional values, like respect, commitment, and honesty. A world away from online dating, many matchmaking agencies insist on screening checks and interviews for all new members. They also often have behavioural guidelines that insist members treat each other kindly. Personal matchmakers are dating experts who show empathy and understanding towards their clients. They understand how healthy relationships are built and maintained. At The County Register, we aim to ensure that our members feel safe and valued.
What Are the Key Characteristics of a Healthy Relationship?
Building Respect
Respect is one of the most important elements of a romantic relationship. If respect isn’t shown on both sides, an uncomfortable imbalance occurs. Couples need to consider each other’s feelings, boundaries, wants and needs. If an action or behaviour is going to negatively impact your partner, think about how you can do things differently, or try to come to a compromise together. Showing each other respect should be a consistent part of any healthy relationship.
Earning Trust
Trust can be difficult for many people in new relationships. In this world of apps and online dating, singles can feel unsure about how many other people a new partner might be chatting to, or whether they are still active on dating apps. Additionally, if we’ve been let down in the past, it can be very hard to trust again. A study by the World Population Review in 2022 found that 36% of Brits in committed relationships admitted to cheating. In the US, almost three-quarters of the men interviewed, and more than two thirds of women, confessed that they would sleep with someone else if they were sure their partner would never find out. It’s no surprise that trust is an issue couples struggle with! The easiest way to cultivate trust is to make honesty and communication key elements of your relationship. If you ever feel as though something is missing within your relationship, talk to your partner rather than looking for a solution outside of your relationship. Remember, trust is easily broken and incredibly hard to mend!
Treat Your Partner Like a Best Friend
Always remember that your partner deserves the same patience, kindness and understanding as you would show a best friend. It’s easy to start taking each other for granted when you’ve been together for a while, or to start acting out when you feel tired, disappointed, or neglected. Remember, a solid friendship is the foundation of any healthy relationship. Make kindness a cornerstone of your life together.
Setting Boundaries
Setting healthy boundaries is key in any relationship. Ensuring that you don’t push your partner’s boundaries in a disrespectful way is as important as ensuring you understand your own limits. There are different types of boundaries within romantic relationships:
Physical boundaries involve personal space, intimacy and personal needs like sleep and nutrition. Extreme violations of physical boundaries may involve physical abuse or a disregard for your personal space.
Practical boundaries may involve money, possessions, cleanliness within the home, showing up on time for dates/appointments/meetings. These kinds of issues usually arise as people become more involved in each other’s lives. Showing disrespect for a person’s practical boundaries can cause resentment to build very quickly. If communication isn’t strong and clear around these kinds of issues, the person you thought could be the love of your life could become insufferable!
Emotional boundaries are about the way in which we show and express feelings and emotions. To openly express our feelings, we must feel safe to do so. Ways of respecting emotional boundaries include listening and responding respectfully when a partner expresses a need. When we dismiss another person’s feelings, or ridicule them, we are violating emotional boundaries. Sulking or withdrawing affection as forms of punishment when a partner expresses feelings or emotions is also incredibly damaging to a relationship.
Showing Vulnerability
Allowing yourself to be vulnerable in a healthy way adds a deeper layer to any relationship. Healthy vulnerability includes: communicating your feelings to your partner, showing affection, putting your trust in another person. In order to do this, we must feel safe within a relationship. If you are unable to show vulnerability, first ask yourself whether this is because you do not feel safe to do so. If not, establish whether this is because of past experiences, or if there is an element of safety missing within your current relationship. Issues like this can be discussed with a professional relationship coach to help you work through them.
Demonstrating Commitment
True commitment, within a relationship, is an agreement between two people to do their best to take care of each other, emotionally, physically, and practically. Healthy relationships involve understanding your partner’s needs; taking practical actions to keep the relationship alive; pro-actively creating a healthy environment for two people to thrive within. Without this commitment, relationships lose momentum and couples start to take each other for granted. Committed couples put thought and effort into the future of their relationship, they endeavour to continually improve their shared experience. They avoid behaviours that will hurt their partner, or leave them feeling unsafe, unseen or unheard. Maintaining a healthy relationship isn’t easy! It takes courage and vulnerability. Even the seemingly happiest couples have to work at keeping the spark alive!
Expressing Forgiveness
No-one is perfect. Everyone makes silly mistakes or errors of judgement; these moments make us human. Couples who share healthy relationships accept each other unconditionally. Forgiveness does not mean accepting poor or negative behaviours, but it does mean accepting that your partner will not get it right all the time. Where possible, forgive and let go of petty resentments. Practice unconditional love.
Final Thoughts: The Importance of Personal Matchmaking
It is easy to feel daunted by the above list of requirements for a healthy, long-lasting relationship. A survey by the 2022 Pew Research Centre found that while interest in finding a long-term relationship remained consistent, most singles felt that dating had become more difficult post-pandemic. They also felt anxious about online dating and the prospect of not finding a committed partner until later in life.
The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found a link between feelings of isolation and dating apps in a 2020 review. Online daters were found to experience loneliness and dissatisfaction with life.
In 2021, a survey of 374 singles found that depression and social anxiety were linked to how much time a participant spent on dating apps.
The above stats illustrate why professional matchmaking is such an important alternative to online dating. Matchmaking can really help singles to find the right relationship without becoming overwhelmed. At The County Register, our matchmakers and dating coaches are experienced in guiding men and women towards genuine happiness, particularly if you are newly single or have taken a long break from dating.
Dating coaches offer personalised advice based on each individual’s unique situation. At The County Register, many of our clients enjoy having a relationship expert to share thoughts and feelings with, in a safe, confidential setting. The support of a dating coach can increase feelings of positivity, hope and confidence. Sessions will be followed up with further feel-good reading, listening to recommended podcasts and well-being videos. Our method centres around feel-good, move-forward philosophies.
Popular dating shows like My Mum, Your Dad, and Married at First Sight, illustrate how important the professional wisdom of a dating coach can be to single men and women. We often don’t see the ways in which we self-sabotage until others show us. Understanding why we behave the way we do within relationships is like opening a door to a happier, more confident future. A dating coach will help you make changes to ensure you are ready to be treated with respect and love…and that you are ready to truly value a loving, committed partner.
Our personal matchmakers choose matches based on shared values, goals, and interests, giving you the best chance of meeting someone you are genuinely compatible with. All of our members have been through a registration process that ensures they are genuinely single and ready for love – this can be incredibly reassuring for people who have been let down or misled by others on dating apps and online. The relief of dealing with genuine human beings is real!
If you would like to try a fresh new alternative to apps and online dating, consider joining a traditional matchmaking agency with a modern vibe, like The County Register. We’re an elite dating service that mixes human experience and empathy with the latest tech tools to help our members find genuine, lasting love! Fill out our contact form, or call us today for an informal chat about how we can help.
