Being in a new relationship is exciting. It can feel like a lot of fun and satisfaction. New relationships, however, also have specific characteristics that may affect the way you experience this bond. Let’s take a look at 4 important aspects.
Infatuation
When you first enter a relationship, you are usually infatuated with your partner. This comes with butterflies in the stomach and all other characteristics of “puppy” love. When you are infatuated, you are attracted to them and want to spend a lot of time with them, but you may not know them all that well at first.
Idealization
In a brand new relationship, we tend to see our partner through rose-tinted glasses. They might seem like the “one” and appear to be almost perfect. While we may see some of their faults, we usually minimize them and don’t look at them as being significant. We focus on the positive.
Looking better than we are
Just as we idealize our partner, we also hope to have others idealize us. We might make more compromises, be more willing to go along with their ideas, or downplay our own flaws, intentionally or unintentionally. We may be more willing to forgive and much less willing to get angry or mad. We want to make the relationship work.
Passing
Every relationship that lasts must change. W e can’t stay in the infatuation phase forever, which has its drawbacks and advantages. Eventually, after 6 months or so, we begin recognizing more of our partner’s faults. We start fighting more and having more conflict. We begin to get to know our partner and also open up to show more of ourselves. When infatuation passes, we can begin to develop lasting and deep love or we can decide to end the relationship.
References
Wilson, C. (2017). Stage 1: Infatuation | 7 Stages of a Healthy Relationship. Agape-aid.org. Retrieved