The 10 Commandments of a Healthy Relationship

Writing for Lovescrewed started out as a way for me to reconcile with the bad relationships I had in the past and learn from them, while I went on my journey to becoming a whole person and loving myself. But then I stopped writing early in 2014 because I got into a new relationship and everything was so exciting and fun—and who wants to read blog posts about me being happy and in love anyway? People come to self-help blogs to get raw, honest advice, and I wasn’t dealing with the ghosts of my past anymore to fuel my writing.

Not to say that I’m unhappy now that I’m blogging again, but as my boyfriend and I grow closer to the two year mark in our relationship, I’ve come to learn a lot about relationships, as this is the longest and most serious one I’ve been in.

Needless to say (since it’s evident in my many blog posts), I’ve had my experience with toxic relationships, and learned from my mistakes. I’ve also learned a lot while navigating through this newer relationship. It’s interesting to see how much your feelings for someone can evolve over the span of a couple years—from smitten to infatuated, to learning that they aren’t the person you thought you were falling in love with in the first place, to accepting them for who they truly are and loving that you can learn new things about them even when you thought they couldn’t surprise you.

It’s not always easy, but if you’re with the right person, it’s worth it and hopefully you’ll grow together.

Here are some of the most useful things I’ve learned, and guidelines I try to live by in a relationship (even if I mess up sometimes):

Promise to yourself to never check their phone. Obviously I’m not proud to admit this, but I’m guilty of being the psycho jealous girlfriend who actually blocked girls repeatedly from my ex’s Facebook and Instagram accounts while we were dating… It was hard to stop, but I decided I never wanted to experience that burning angry feeling that made me want to throw up every time I got stalker-y and jealous. I can’t say I haven’t occasionally wondered about whether there’s anything suspicious on my boyfriend’s phone, just out of curiosity (and from seeing way too many Instagram memes about it) but it was important for me to set boundaries for myself. I don’t want to become that distrustful, sneaky person again, and I don’t think anyone enjoys feeling like that either.
It’s a slippery slope from checking once just to get rid of nagging insecurities, to constantly being anxious about what they might be doing behind your back, and not trusting them enough to believe what they say. If they’re cheating on you, they’re probably smart enough not to comment heart-eyed emojis on someone’s pictures and they’ll probably delete her texts too, so why bother checking? Trust your gut, and if something makes you uncomfortable, try to talk to them about it. But don’t go sneaking around behind their back because if you can’t trust them enough to take their word for it, then it isn’t a great relationship anyway, and it definitely isn’t worth the stress of worrying if you’re being cheated on.
All boyfriends/girlfriends shall remain innocent until proven guilty! Every relationship is somewhat of a gamble of trust, but if the person hasn’t done anything to make you distrust them, try to let go of the pain you’ve gone through during past relationships and don’t just expect the new person to cheat or treat you badly. The worst mistake you can make is to drive a great partner away by misplacing blame on them for something your high school boyfriend did to you 6 years ago. Don’t let the mistakes of your old teenage ex define every relationship you have in the future, or you’ll always expect to get hurt like you did when you were 16 and neither of you knew how to even be in a healthy relationship.
Be each other’s cheerleaders. Encourage each other and support each other’s dreams! This is especially important because a partner should be one of the first people you come to when something good happens to you, and you’d want to be that person to them too. Give good advice you think will help them and show enthusiasm when something exciting happens. There’s no such thing as too much positivity or good attention.
Pick up new hobbies together. If you started dating just because you both liked the same movies or had the same taste in music, chances are that your mutual interests will get old eventually, because your tastes will probably change over time. If you’re in it for the long haul, you have to find activities you both enjoy doing together. My boyfriend and I like to start watching new TV shows together which makes it our thing, and gives us another source of references for our many inside jokes.
Don’t hold their past against them. Try not to get mad or jealous if they slept with a bunch of people before you two dated because that has nothing to do with you. What’s important is how they’ve acted since you met and started dating. You shouldn’t blame someone for something they did before they even knew you existed.
Keep complimenting each other even if you’ve been dating forever. It’s easy to stop doing this over time because you already know you both are attracted to each other. But it’s still nice to hear that the one person you really want to think you’re hot is still into you, or to know that they still think you’re beautiful even after seeing you in the morning all greasy-haired and crusty-eyed. Getting a compliment from your significant other feels a thousand times better than getting 200 likes on an Instagram picture (well, maybe not, but it’s close).
Don’t ask for anything or expect anything. You should definitely expect them to treat you well, but I’m talking about material items. Your boyfriend doesn’t owe you designer bags or jewelry. Although it is nice to receive gifts, don’t be one of those girls who expects her boyfriend to spoil her with expensive things. Follow Destiny’s Child’s lead and be an Independent Woman (The house I live in, I’ve bought it / The car I’m driving, I’ve bought it / I depend on me).
Be grateful and remember to say thank you even for the little things. You’ll become more appreciative of what your partner has to offer if you’re noticing and thinking about the effort they put in to make you happy.
Say “I love you” often, or express fondness in whatever way you’re comfortable with at that stage in your relationship. It’s helpful to remind each other regularly that the love is still there.
Learn how to communicate openly and honestly with each other. This is the most important part of maintaining a healthy relationship. If you don’t express it to your partner when you’re feeling upset with something they did or didn’t do, or when you’re feeling any other emotion towards them, they will not know. This might be obvious, but if you don’t tell them directly, they probably won’t figure it out—nobody is a mind reader (and neither are you, so don’t expect anyone to be omniscient about your thoughts and feelings). If it’s too hard for you to tell them directly, try writing out a letter or a text to them explaining everything you’re feeling, and then try sending it. If it’s a good relationship, then they’re likely to respond well and try to help you meet your needs.
Another important part of communication is active listening. When your partner is talking to you, don’t just think about what you want to say next—focus on them, then think of how you will respond after. It’s important to let them be heard and be empathetic so you can be there for them and give them what they need. Because while a relationship can be great in that you have someone who will be there for you, it’s your duty (really, it should be your privilege and pleasure) to be a good friend to your partner.

Why I Stayed: Because Nobody Told Me It Was Abuse

I’m coming a week or so late to this conversation, but I still think my story needs to be shared. When I first started reading the #WhyIStayed tweets, I was moved by the bravery those women had to share such intimate details about the trauma they’d been through. I thought I was lucky to have never been in a relationship in which my partner was physically violent towards me, especially considering how many women I knew in real life who weren’t as fortunate.

But it wasn’t until I started reading my own friends’ “Why I Stayed” stories that I realized–much to my surprise and horror–that I was a survivor too.

Recently, a few of my friends wrote posts on Facebook about how they had previously been stuck in emotionally abusive relationships. They wrote all the painful details about how their former partners had controlled them, manipulated them, and isolated them from their other friends.

The more I read, the deeper my heart sank–I realized that I had gone through the exact same experience a few years ago, only I didn’t know it could be considered abuse. I never thought about it that way; I thought my ex was just a jerk and a compulsive liar–he never hit me, but there were times in the relationship when I was really scared. I didn’t know that even if your partner doesn’t physically harm you, it can still be abuse; psychological and emotional harm can be just as damaging.

When I realized that I was a survivor of an abusive relationship, I almost couldn’t believe it. But at the same time, it felt so true, and I felt foolish for not realizing it earlier. It makes me feel better knowing now that my trauma with him is validated, that what I went through was horrible and that it wasn’t my fault. How he treated me was not okay.

So, why did I stay?

Because he kept telling me that we were soul mates.

Because he insisted he would take care of me and be there for me forever.

Because he said it was “us against the world,” and that my family and friends just couldn’t understand why we wanted to get married so young and quickly, because they couldn’t feel the love we felt for each other.

Because everyone else in my family got divorced and I wanted to beat the statistics.

Because he needed me to be there for him while he was in basic training.

Because he made me feel like I owed it to him to be better to him than he was to me because I was the only girl he’d ever been with, and he made me feel guilty for having been with someone else before our relationship.

Because he gave me his Facebook password “to show how much he trusted me” (but he also told me that if I didn’t give him my password and let him read my messages, I didn’t trust him back).

Because I made a big deal about us being in love and engaged on Facebook and I didn’t want everyone to know how wrong I had been.

Because he isolated me from my best friend (because he was jealous of how much I loved her) so I had nobody to turn to when things went badly with him.

Because he convinced me that my dreams of becoming a screenwriter were stupid and that I would be a better wife and mother than I would be at writing.

Because when he punched the hood of his truck when he was jealous about another man flirting with me, he told me it was because he just loved me too much.

Because he told me that he yelled and cussed at me because he was so in love with me that he couldn’t think straight; he told me it was my fault because I drove him crazy.

Because after he yelled at me on the phone and made me cry in the hallway of my freshman dorm every night, he would apologize and tell me that he loved me and he needed me.

Because Disney movies and romantic comedies (and society in general) taught me that true love was more important that anything, and that I needed to stick to my man no matter what (even if it meant battling constant anxiety and painful stress hives all over my body).

I stayed because nobody ever told me that it could be abuse, even if he never hit me.

I was scared to leave him. It’s still scary to think about what it what my life would have been like if I hadn’t. He made it incredibly difficult for me to cut him out of my life, but I slowly brought my close friends back into my life and made a bigger support system for myself. I blocked him on all my social media websites and ignored his calls, but I was constantly afraid of running into him again even though he lived on the other side of the world. I’m still afraid I’ll run into him when I visit family back home. It gets easier, but I’m not sure if the fear or pain will ever go away completely.

It still hurts. And this is most likely the most personal, triggering piece I’ve ever written. But my story is one that needs to be shared so that other women (or anyone, really) can see what I went through and know that it’s not okay, and if you are going through something similar, it is not okay. I’d like to think that people see me as a strong person who doesn’t take shit from men, but it took the process of fighting my way out of this relationship for me to become the person I am today. This can happen to anybody, even the people you’d least suspect. So if you are going through this too, know that it gets better. And if anyone you know is a survivor of an abusive relationship, show some compassion. It’s easy to say that you’d never stay in an abusive relationship, but you never know how hard it is to leave until you’re the one living through it. Especially when you have no idea that you’re going through it.

Related: How to Get Out of a Toxic Relationship, Lovescrewed

Know Your Worth

**Using gender-neutral pronouns here, so note the use of they/their as referring to a single person

A while ago I had a huge crush on one of my friends (which was reciprocated in full). We flirted a lot, but also shared a lot of our deepest, most personal secrets with each other. This person was still interested in their ex, and I thought I was okay with it. I mean, as long as we were together, I could overlook it. After getting pretty deep into it emotionally together, I found out this person was still talking and fighting with their ex even after I thought they were done. This person still wanted to be with me anyway, even wanted to talk to me about their problems from their previous/still ongoing relationship with this semi-ex/still-relevant significant other.

I had a few options at this point:
1. I could stick around. I’d had feelings for this person since last fall and I’d been dreaming about what it would be like if we finally got together. Was I really going to give up now?

2. I could stop. It wouldn’t really be quitting or failing at this attempt at love. I really did try. I gave this person a chance and an intimate position in my life. I opened myself up deeply and genuinely, connecting with them in a way I never had before with anyone else. I could accept that it was fun while it lasted, but know that I’m better than waiting for someone who got to see the real me and didn’t want me enough to take this opportunity.

I chose the latter.

Maybe at the beginning of 2013 or earlier, I would’ve stuck around. I had lower self-esteem before and often settled for whoever took any interest in me.

This person had their chance. I could have stayed and waited for them to make up their mind, but I didn’t. I know that I am an intelligent, beautiful person who deserves someone who will fully appreciate me for who I am. I know that I’m worth having a partner who wants to be with me, without having to fully weigh out their options before they decide they think I’m worth it. I know I’m worth better than playing second fiddle to some person who didn’t even give my person the time of day.

If someone is stringing you along, don’t wait around. Make your move, let them know how you feel, and put the ball in their court. If they don’t respond/don’t realize how great a person you are, then know when to let go and move forward. Know your worth, and don’t look back to someone who wasn’t smart enough to realize what a catch you are.

Updates on My Best Relationship

I entered an exclusive relationship over the summer and so far it is hands down the best experience of my life. We started dating about 5 months ago and I’ve never been happier!

We started getting to know each other deeply around May this year. Our dates were the best and I always felt more comfortable when I was only with her than I did with anyone else. We went to the beach almost every day to be alone. We’d read The Princess Bride, wade into the water, or just lie down and listen to Grouplove. I spent more time with her than anyone at this point. She was there for me while I was going through a really difficult emotional period, when nobody else was. The nights were less lonely with just her in my bed; I cried a lot less than I did before.

Then around July, we decided to be exclusive. I promised myself I would put her first instead of searching for a new partner to complete me, like I always did in the past. I promised that I would be myself, always, and not change who I was for anyone else. Unlike in other relationships, I knew I never had to change for her, unless I wanted to. At the same time, she always made me want to become a better person.

I never have jealousy or trust issues with her. I’ll admit this is the first relationship in which I haven’t been totally faithful (I’ve kissed a few odd people now and then since we started dating), but I always come back to her in the end. For the most part, I remain loyal to her. I try to remind her that she’s beautiful when she’s feeling down (which can be quite often), and lately she can be completely happy with only my approval. I’ve grown to love her an incredible amount over the past few months.

I’m sure you’re all curious as to who this person is… it’s myself. I risk sounding super bigheaded in this post but dating myself really was the best thing I’ve ever done for my self-esteem and overall happiness. Dating myself taught me that I don’t need anyone to complete me and that I can take care of myself. I don’t need some guy to try to fix me. I don’t need anyone else to tell me I’m beautiful anymore in order for me to believe it.

Although I think relationships are great, I think that dating yourself is a very important step to becoming emotionally stable enough to date anyone else. After dating myself for several months, I already feel like I’m much more self-reliant and much less needy than I was in my past relationships. I’m on my way to becoming whole and I did it completely by myself. I’m not at the Sue Sylvester level of self-love to the point where I want to legally marry myself, but I’m at a much better place than I was before.

Unfortunately, Facebook doesn’t allow us to make our relationship status official, but whatever, I guess. We’re not really into labels anyway.

How to Turn Your Rivals into Your Friends

A few years ago, I was dating a guy who obviously was very interested in another girl. He had a huge crush on her before we met, and did all kinds of sweet, cheesy crap for her, like buying her flowers and showing up at her place unexpectedly (although if you ask me, that’s actually creepier than it is cute). He used to tell me how much I reminded him of her; how we were both smart, pretty, liked to read, and so on. I often felt like I was just a consolation girlfriend because she was never interested in him, even though he made it clear to her that he was very interested.

Reasonably so (or at least it was reasonable in my mind), I ended up hating this girl. I obsessed over her. I’d look at her tumblr and think of the sassiest, bitchiest things to say about her and her shitty excuse for poetry. I’d laugh when she called herself a writer. I’d send her anonymous messages correcting her grammar (I’m almost not even sorry about this). I was unapologetically petty towards someone who had never personally wronged me in her life.

I spent so much of my time thinking about how much I hated her and I ended up hating myself every time he liked one of his pictures. Wasn’t I enough for him? It killed me when he started following her on Instagram. Every time he complimented her at all, it felt like a blow to my self-esteem.

After awhile, I began to realize how consuming, unhealthy, and irrational this imaginary rivalry was between me and some girl who never even thought about me. I tried to figure out a way to get over her in my head, since hating her or pretending she didn’t exist didn’t work.

I realized that she and I were actually a lot a like. We both loved to read, we loved creative writing, we liked cheesy romantic things, we had similar interest in books (we were both reading the Hunger Games series at the time), and hell–we even looked alike. If I hadn’t met her under these circumstances, we’d probably be friends. Why did I have to hate her?

I decided that if she was going to be in my life, I might as well win. I’d make her my friend. I reached out to her, was very friendly, and made an effort for us to get to know each other. After a few weeks, we actually became friends! And as I kept dating this guy, as he turned into a total asshole, she had my back when he didn’t. She’d give me her support, give me good advice, and she’d even stick up for me when he talked to her about our relationship. She’s actually a really nice, genuine person and I’m sorry for how petty I was. I’d actually like to think we’re still friends, even after that guy isn’t a part of my life anymore.

Looking back on this experience, I realize how unnecessary all that negativity was. A guy I follow on Twitter posted something amazing a few weeks ago and it really resonated with me:

“Women should never compete with each other for a man’s affection. It’s like running in a race and the prize is a bag of diarrhea.” –Solomon Georgio via Twitter

It’s true. Why did I spend so much time hating a girl who was actually really nice and had never wronged me? Furthermore, why did I hate her because my boyfriend liked her? The real problem was with him and his misplaced affections while in a committed relationship, and even more with my own self-esteem issues. It wasn’t like he was some perfect person I needed to fight over anyway.

So next time you find yourself hating on that “bitch” your boyfriend’s trying to get at, or when someone cheats on you, just stop. Direct your anger towards the person who’s actually doing you wrong, who’s breaking a promise to you. Better yet, ditch them and find someone better, or fly solo, because there’s no use in sticking around with someone who treats you with any less respect than you deserve. I’ve used this technique several times now with different girls and it has a 100% success rate so far. I feel great about myself and I don’t let boyfriends with wandering eyes take up any of my time. Plus now I have all these awesome friends!

Love yourself, love each other, and forget the assholes who bring you down.