Proven Ways to Deepen Emotional Intimacy in a Relationship

Do you struggle to connect to your partner intimately? Did you know that there are simple ways that will deepen intimacy with your partner? It's important to come to the realization that other couples have similar struggles, so it's NOT just you two.

Any long-term relationship will go through peaks and plateaus at one point or another. It's about getting over these obstacles together and coming out empowered and stronger in the end!

Intimacy: More Than Just Physical Connection

Of course, Passion is important, certainly, but intimacy rates the highest.

Intimacy goes beyond the physical connection you can get through sexy time in the bedroom. Intimacy is the expression of love to your partner in your romantic relationship.

It’s the emotional connection that you build through conversation. It’s mostly about building trust, checking-in, and having the ability to sit alone together in absolute silence without it being an awkward feeling.

Intimacy is the sense of another person fully knowing you, and loving you because of who you are—as well as in spite of it.

For the most part, intimacy is an increased sense of relaxed pleasure when you see your loved one’s face after an absence.

For happy and healthy relationships a fair amount of intimacy is needed to survive. Emotional boding is also a deciding factor.

But for many, building intimacy in a relationship is easier said than done.

“Real intimacy comes from letting your guard down and allowing your partner to witness you in a less than stellar light. Experience of total absorption with your partner, in and out of bed is a feeling that deepens as the intimacy level increases.

Figuring out how to fix the disconnection

In order to reverse the effects of any sort of disconnection it's imperative that you take the necessary steps to get closer to a resolution. You can do this by jointly agreeing that the issue is worth salvaging and then deciding on the steps to take to save your relationship.

Two of the most common factors that determine whether or not one or both of you have contributed to an unsuccessful relationship is not being able to be vulnerable and spending less than average quality time together. These call for a recipe that spells d-i-s-a-s-t-e-r in the making.

Fix The Disconnect With These Four Steps

1. Disclose more with intimate talks to feel closer.
2. Ensure to your partner that it's safe to be open.
3. Make time for deeply emotional conversations.
4. Once in a while do something new or big that you experience together.

Take A Leap Of Faith

This requires a significant amount of faith in order to take a leap into rare honesty and allowing yourself to be vulnerable without knowing the end result. Vulnerability requires you to be yourself with your loved one and not put on a false act. This takes a certain comfortability within you and if you haven't reached this point as of yet then it's something that you must work on, as it cannot be found or given to you by your partner!

Nonetheless, healthy adult vulnerability is called intimacy. It is the quintessential essence that bonds us to a purposeful life experience. It's quite impossible to share an intimate experience and build something extraordinary with our partner if we are unwilling to share our true authentic selves during the process.

So building intimacy requires you to be completely yourself and the drive to be able to commit and do it fully.

When you're able to do so then I’m sure the risks will be so worth the reward.

Get To Know Your Self Intimately

I'm not referring to only sexually, but spiritually and emotionally. I know it sounds super cliche but self-compassion, and self-love are skills that need to be learned, in order to receive love from someone else. It is highly imperative to work on all things "self" through daily self-care practice.

At the very core of it, intimacy it is all about opening up and allowing your loved one to share in your intimacy and your vulnerabilities. One thing for sure is, you can find plenty of fun ways to be intimate with your partner that don't just occur in bedroom, but outside of it as well. Look at it this way, if you can’t be 100 percent, authentically yourself, you're only holding yourself back from experiencing what intimacy in a relationship can give you.

Remember, overall true intimacy comes from you, and it's something that can grow with time as long as you take the necessary steps to get yourself there.

Connect to your partner without being physical

You can’t just talk about love. You must be willing to show it in a deeper way, by simply making specific sweet gestures, by wearing a ring, having date nights or holding one another. You have to be comfortable with expressing your love. Put away any distractions when you're together and focus on spending some time to work on intimacy, then get to it!

Be sure to let each other in. Talk about why you’re stressed out at work or about being pregnant, getting married, or why the holiday season drains you. These thoughts and feelings may invite a conversation about family dynamics, personal values, and the type of life that you want to build with your special someone. So don't hold back simply because you may be afraid to let your feelings show. Intimacy is all about being brave, opening up and getting into those deeper conversations that truly matter. There is nothing braver than choosing to be in a real relationship. And a real relationship requires vulnerability from both individuals.

So if you feel like building intimacy in your relationship is important for your union, don’t leave it on the back burner. Take the time to put energy into it and focus on it. Make it high on the list of your goals and priorities for your relationship.

To start you can find random moments to touch your significant other. It can happen anytime, anywhere. For instance, while you’re driving you can reach over and hold their hand or caress the back of your partner’s head. It’s all about the sensuousness of intimate touch. Touching is something that re-ignites the emotional bond that you share.

After a long day, you can give them a big hug. It lets him or her know 'I like the way you feel to me' or 'I feel at home when I'm with you.' One of the best parts of the day is getting in bed at night and feeling the presence of your loved one in an intimate setting. Just by merely being in each other’s arms is so comforting, reassuring, and lovely.

Connect To The Soul With Eye Contact

The factual science behind eye contact attraction is rather interesting. A Miami study found that on a first date, eye contact builds intimacy very quickly and very powerfully.

Through extensive research it showed that eye contact during conversation diminishes as a relationship progresses over time. If you want to reconnect with your partner more intimately, make a pact to work on looking into one another's eyes while talking and you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Express Simple Gratitude Often And Listen Actively

It has been proven that simple and sincere acknowledgments of gratitude will go a long way with your partner.

A University of Georgia study found that by telling your partner, “thank you” consistently will assist in strengthening your relationship. By letting your partner know that you are indeed grateful for what they do makes them feel wanted, needed, and extremely appreciated. Something as simple as, “Thanks for doing the dishes, babe!” will always go a long way.

One of the best things that you can do for your relationship is to listen actively, since it shows that you really care about your partner’s desires, fears, intentions, and dreams.

Always be intentional when you're working on your union by giving your undivided attention. Make sure to put your phone down, turn the TV off, and listen to how your partner is feeling and vice versa. Ask follow-up questions like, “How did that make you feel?”, “Can you tell me more," or something more or less along those lines.