Keeping Healthy Relationships
Keeping Healthy Relationships
HEALTHY
RELATIONSHI
PS
Good relationships are fun and
make you feel good about
yourself. The relationships that
you make in your youth will be a
special part of your life and will
teach you some of the most
important lessons about who you
are.
• Truly,
good relationships take time
and energy to develop. All
relationships should be based on
respect and honesty, and this is
especially important when you
decide to date someone. (Karen
Lawson 2016).
• In a healthy relationship, both partners:
•- are treating each other with kindness and
respect;
•- are honest with each other;
•- like to spend time together;
•- take an interest in things that are important to
each other;
•- respect one another’s emotional, physical, and
sexual limits;
•
Relationships should
not be abusive!!!
Dating relationships can be
wonderful! But while it’s important
that dating partners care for each
other,
it’s just as important that you take
care of yourself!
Love should never hurt
• About 10% of high school students say they
have suffered violence from someone they
date. This includes physical abuse where
someone causes physical pain or injury to
another person.
• This
can involve hitting, slapping, or kicking
(Karen Lawson 2016).
Sexual abuse is also a type of
violence, and involves any kind of
unwanted sexual advance. It can
include everything from
unwelcome sexual comments to
kissing to intercourse. But abuse
doesn’t always mean that someone
hits or hurts your body (Karen
Lawson 2016).
• Emotional abuse is anything that
harms your self-esteem or causes
shame. This includes saying things
that hurt your feelings, make you feel
that you aren’t worthwhile, or trying
to control who you see or where you
go (Karen Lawson 2016).
Remember, you deserve
healthy, happy
relationships. Abuse of
any type is never okay.
How to communicate
• Talking openly makes relationships more fun and
satisfying: especially when you both talk about each
other’s needs for physical, emotional, mental and
sexual health.
• You can’t expect a partner to know what you want
and need unless you tell them. The simple fact is
that none of us are a mind reader – so it’s important
to be open about your needs and expectations.
• In
a romantic relationship, it is important to
communicate openly on issues of sex and sexual
health.
• The decision to enter into a sexual relationship is
entirely up to you, and you always have the right
to say “no” at any time to anything that you don’t
feel comfortable with.
• Remember that there are many ways to express
love without sex.
So what’s to talk about?