Valentine’s Day is much celebrated in Australia and its popularity is increasing by the year. It’s an opportunity to strengthen bonds of love with partners, family, friends or those we secretly admire. This Valentine’s Day, as well as offering flowers and chocolates, try bringing other gifts to your relationship that can be appreciated throughout the year.
Dr Gary Chapman, directs us to the five love languages, as a way for us to connect with our partners and create long lasting, happy and stable relationships. Dr Chapman identifies the love languages as:
- Gifts – loving through giving and receiving.
- Acts of service – loving through doing things for your partner.
- Words of affirmation – loving your partner by speaking positively.
- Quality time – loving through valuing your partner and listening attentively.
- Physical touch – loving through closeness and affection.
This might sound easy, but how do you identify your love language? Are you and your loved ones speaking the same love language? More often than not, we prefer to express our affection in different ways, which can lead to misunderstanding and conflict. When what we get differs from what we want, we fail to recognise that our partner is in fact expressing their love. By learning to speak and understand each other’s love language, we enrich our relationship, communicate our commitment and feel loved in return.
For more information about love languages, and how using the right one for your partner can help your relationship thrive, book to see a counsellor or visit http://www.5lovelanguages.com/, where you can take a quiz to find out your love language, or get more information about how to work out your child’s love language.
-- Filiz Mortimer, Relationship Counsellor @ Relationships Australia Qld
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