How often have we craved an emotional connection with someone — the kind that makes the heart run a million miles per minute and skip a thousand beats in awe? A connection that is unadulterated and pure and is just solely about how you feel about each other. Romcoms make it look so easy to find someone with whom we can connect emotionally and live happily ever after. But, honestly, how often does that happen in real life?
As it turns out, finding an emotional connection is not as easy as building a physical or intellectual connection. While it may sound simple, it is not that easy to connect emotionally with people after all. We often confuse emotional connection with the feeling of being in love. This leads to questions like, “Does emotional connection mean to love?” Quite simply, the emotional connection is the strength that holds love together.
There is no one single way of being emotionally connected to someone. The emotional connection in a relationship works differently for different couples. Given that the meaning of emotional connection is so nuanced, it may vary from couple to couple. But do you sometimes wonder if you are emotionally connecting with your wife or husband? Or are you more worried about whether you have an emotional connection with someone you have just started seeing? Well, we have you covered.
What Is An Emotional Connection?
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Before we get to the benefits and signs of emotional intimacy, let us first try to understand the emotional connection psychology. What is an emotional connection? While the nuances differ for each individual, a basic definition that holds for everyone is that an emotional connection entials is a mix of intuitive feelings that create a link between two people by bringing them closer together. These are strong feelings that link two people together or create a bond between someone and something.
Human beings experience a wide range of emotions – anger, joy, happiness, love, sadness, etc. They form connections with people based on these emotions. When you put them together, an emotional connection refers to a strong bond with someone (friend, partner, parents – could be anyone) you share a specific set of emotions with.
While an emotional connection is important in every relationship we form, it becomes paramount for the survival of romantic relationships. You need to build emotional intimacy with your partner if you want your relationship to become strong and survive the storms. The lack of emotional connection in a relationship will cause frustration and eventually a breakup. It is the element that makes love grow and blossom.
Knowing your partner on a deeper level helps build an emotional connection with a man or woman. Talking to each other, sharing your joys and sorrows, trusting each other, showing affection, and being weak and vulnerable with each other are a few emotional connection examples to look for in a relationship. These, in turn, help you understand what makes your partner happy or sad, what frustrates or angers them, how they would react to different situations, or what makes them cry.
Related Reading: 20 Questions To Ask Your Partner To Build Emotional Intimacy
Benefits Of Emotional Connection In A Relationship
Emotional connection acts as an anchor in a relationship that helps both partners weather the storms that come their way. A relationship cannot thrive without it. You will not be able to know or get close to someone if you don’t feel connected to them emotionally. It’s great for your mental and physical wellbeing too because it brings with it pure, unfiltered joy. Here are a few benefits of feeling emotionally connected to your significant other:
anchor in a relationship that helps both partners weather the storms that come their way. A relationship cannot thrive without it. You will not be able to know or get close to someone if you don’t feel connected to them emotionally. It’s great for your mental and physical wellbeing too because it brings with it pure, unfiltered joy. Here are a few benefits of feeling emotionally connected to your significant other:
- Builds a sense of safety and security
- You feel seen, heard, and validated
- It releases oxytocin and other hormones that make you feel happy and euphoric
- It builds mutual respect, trust, and support in a relationship
- Your emotional needs are met, which is important for a healthy body and mind
10 Signs You Have An Emotional Connection With Someone
There are always signs that indicate you have a deep emotional connection with someone. These signs might help you find out if you are emotionally connected with your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse or are depending on others to fulfill that need for an emotional connection. Or they might help you realize the gaps and build upon the emotional connection in your relationship. Either way, here are 10 sure fire signs of emotional connection with a woman or a man:
1. Signs of emotional intimacy – Trusting your partner
Trust is the foundation of any successful relationship. Without it, a relationship is likely to fall apart pretty soon. When you have a deep emotional connection with someone, you automatically learn to trust each other. Trust is proof that you feel emotionally safe in the relationship. Trusting your partner also means that you have respect for them.
Obstacles are common in any relationship but, with trust, you know that your partner has your best interests at heart. You will not feel unsafe or insecure when the emotional connection with your significant other is really strong because you know and trust them to always have your back.
Related Reading: Top 9 Tips To Build Trust In Relationships
2. You have the space to disagree on things
Sometimes, arguments are healthy. Disagreements are common in every sphere of life. It is not mandatory to share the same outlook or have the same opinion on things as your partner. In a relationship, one must have the freedom to voice their disagreement freely without the fear of being criticized. It is the effort to understand your partner that counts. When there is space for disagreement, conversations become more meaningful. And when that happens, know that you have a strong emotional connection with your partner.
3. You stop caring about appearance and connect more deeply
In the initial phases of your relationship, you tend to care about how you look and are super conscious about your appearance. But, with time, you cease to care about it. You stop checking yourself out in the mirror at least 10 times before meeting your partner. You feel confident in your pajamas and with the way you look. The relationship rises above superficial things like appearances, and becomes mostly about understanding each other and being there for each other in every possible situation.
4. You can be vulnerable with your partner
If you’re wondering what the signs of emotional intimacy are, add it to your list. Contrary to popular belief, being vulnerable with your partner is a sign of strength and not weakness. To express your needs, fears, and embarrassments in an uninhibited and unadulterated manner shows how comfortable you are with your partner.
When your vulnerability is not seen as an emotional burden but is accepted and paid attention to, that is when you know that you share a strong emotional connection with your partner. When you let your guard down, you connect with your partner on a deeper, more intimate level. Vulnerability brings out the most authentic version of you and being accepted for who you are is a definite sign of emotional connection.
5. Emotional connection examples – Paying attention to the little things in your relationship
At the end of the day, we all know that it is the little things that count. When in a relationship with a strong emotional connection, you and your partner pay attention to the details of everyday life. You know how they like to part their hair, how they take their tea, and their pet peeves. You know what brings a smile to their face and what irritates them.
The range of little things you know about them may be pretty vast. Only when you have a strong emotional connection with your partner does such knowledge come naturally to you. Attention to such little details helps in building familiarity and strengthens intimacy. You develop a natural interest in the “not so exciting” daily activities. That’s exactly how emotional connection psychology works.
Related Reading: 12 Simple Tips To Build Healthy Relationships
6. You can sense when something is wrong
This is one of the strongest signs of emotional connection with a man or woman. The tone of their voice or the look on their face is enough for you to understand that something is off or amiss. You become very intuitive in determining when anything feels odd between you. When you have a deep emotional connection with someone, explaining every detail isn’t necessary. You and your partner are very sensitive to each other’s feelings. You do not have to explain your day was bad. Your partner is able to sense it even from a simple text.
7. Sharing every detail about life with each other
Whenever something happens in your life, good or bad, you cannot wait to share it with your partner. You share the big news as well as the small stuff with the same excitement. When you are unable to tell them, you do not feel whole or satisfied. Though you may lead different lives, healthy communication between you and your partner creates a kind of synergy that is a definite sign of a strong emotional bond.
8. Trying to participate in, or even understand, your partner’s interest
In an emotionally strong relationship, both you and your partner usually go the extra mile to have a deeper understanding of each other’s interests. You make the effort to understand the importance of a certain interest and respect it. Neither of you will take the other for granted, rather you would encourage each other’s hobbies and interests. Even if you have different interests and hobbies, ultimately, you would find ways to strike a balance.
9. Signs of emotional connection with a guy or girl –Accepting each other
When you are in a deeply emotional relationship or have formed a strong emotional connection with your partner, you understand the fact that we all come with our own fair share of flaws. When you learn to accept each other despite the flaws and failings, that is when you know that you connect emotionally with that person.
You do not try to change the other person nor do you want to make them better, according to your yardstick. When you have a strong emotional connection, you simply accept the person as they are without complaining about ways in which they could change to be better suited to your tastes and liking.
Related Reading: How Important Are Common Interests In Relationships?
10. Sex comes second to emotional connection
When you have a deep emotional connection with someone, the craving or the urgency to have sex diminishes. Of course, physical or sexual intimacy is important in a relationship, but with emotional intimacy, you connect more deeply with your partner. You often experience nonsexual intimate moments in your relationship. Even holding hands or hugging your partner can evoke a sense of deep intimacy sans the sexual connotation.
Key Pointers
- An emotional connection is an amalgamation of intuitive feelings that create a bond between people and bring them closer
- Sense of security, trust, mutual respect, and support are a few benefits of developing an emotional connection with someone. Your emotional needs are met, which is crucial for your overall well-being
- The ability and freedom to have disagreements, be vulnerable with each other, and not care about appearances are some of the signs of emotional intimacy
- If you can share your feelings and every other detail about your life with each other, participate in each other’s interests and accept each other with all your flaws and imperfections, know that you share a strong emotional connection with each other
These are a few signs of emotional intimacy to help you understand the concept better. Building an emotional connection with someone takes time, effort, and patience. But it is the most rewarding feeling ever because you know there is someone you can be yourself with and who you can always lean on for support.
FAQs
If you want to develop an emotional connection with your husband or if you feel you are not emotionally connecting with your wife, do not worry! You always can try to develop a certain connection by trying out a few ways. Come out of that shell! Try to communicate your feelings with your partner.
In return, you need to be a good listener as well, do not just hear things out. Most importantly, do not try to fix them or change them. Spending some quality time together might also help you build a deep emotional connection naturally.
Yes. If you feel it is difficult to build an emotional connection with a guy, then you are wrong. It is a huge misconception that guys loathe emotional connection. Any human needs to feel connected to another human being. Every human needs their emotional needs to be met.
The stereotype that men are only interested in sex and have no wish to connect emotionally, has been passed on for generations resulting in a toxic understanding of men’s feelings. Every human craves to feel a connection with someone. Guys love the deep conversations and feeling that they are cared for just as much as women. Like every human, men are no different.
There is no broad definition for the meaning of emotional connection, you just know when you connect emotionally with someone. Emotional connection transcends the realm of physical attraction because you get to know the person for who he or she really is. There can be so many ways to know that you connect emotionally to a person. But, most importantly, it is your intuition which tells you when and whether you are emotionally connected to someone.
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