How You Should Invest in Emotional Intimacy: 6 Expert Tips

When we hear the word intimacy, our minds often direct us to physical intimacy and rarely to emotional intimacy.

But ask yourself if that’s all that is important in a relationship. Is it? Are you satisfied with that kind of relationship?

In my opinion, just physical intimacy does not account for a happy relationship. Yes, it is a big part of a relationship, but still just a component.

Why is emotional intimacy important in a relationship?

Being emotionally invested in a relationship is what completes it. They both, together with some love and affection, embrace the whole relationship. Let us think through the importance of emotional intimacy in a relationship.

How do you signify emotional intimacy?

According to Dr. Wyatt Fisher, “Emotional intimacy is a sense of closeness developed with another person over time.”

What I think about emotional closeness is that it’s a connection- a connection of two souls and a union of communication and understanding.

It can be characterized as a mutual responsibility and shared trust.

In simple words, emotional closeness goes way beyond the bounds of sexual relationships.

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What is the essence of emotional intimacy in a relationship?

Emotional intimacy acts like glue in a relationship. It keeps a couple together even when they start to drift apart.

Emotional connection encompasses love, trust, affection, respect, romance, and spirituality. A lack of emotional closeness results in poor communication and trust issues.

Everyone desires a different level of intimacy based on their past relationship experience and upbringing. Therefore, there is no thumb rule of what’s enough. 

Some prefer fewer emotions, and others desire more in a relationship. 

But yes, there still is a limit. If you cross that limit, it can ruin the bond between two people in a relationship.

It might be a little difficult to understand how to maintain your emotional status with your partner. It cannot exceed nor lag the level of understanding.

Do you often wonder how to connect emotionally or how to build an emotional connection with your partner?

As much as we yearn for emotional intimacy, many of us often wonder how to develop emotional intimacy. We are never taught how to engross it into a relationship or think about relationship investment.

The good news is, it isn’t that difficult to cultivate. Here is some essential piece of advice on how you can develop emotional intimacy in your relationship.

1. Share both your head and heart

Head and heart both play an important role in a relationship. The heart signifies your feelings, and the head implies your thoughts.

If you are feeling happy, share it, and the same goes when you are feeling sad, angry, and irritated or whatsoever you feel. In simple words, speak out your feelings to your partner.

This will help your partner understand you. They will get to know what makes you happy and what makes you sad. They will then know what to expect from you in certain situations.

2. Be respectful and trust the bond of love

The indispensables of any emotional closeness in a relationship are respect and trust. Both have to be earned, and both these factors are equally necessary for both the partners.

“Trust,” although it is a small word, if you consider the characters, it is a big word when it comes to its meaning.

Trust is never alone; it always consists of those small fractions of responsibility, care, and liability.

It is the most significant measure of any relationship. If you trust your partner with your life, you trust your life with your partner.

Remember, trust always develops with time. Therefore, you and your partners should try to boost the level of faith constantly for building emotional intimacy.

Also, trust develops only if both of you are willing to improve it. You both need that shoulder to cry when the times are tough and a smile to share when you are happy.

3. Share your secrets

Why is sharing your secrets important? You might have heard of the term “secret keeper.” That’s what you are supposed to expect from a relationship if you tell them your secret. They have to keep it safe.

Moreover, this also shows how much you trust your partner. If you trust them with your secret, then your bond is quite strong.

This will always help you strengthen your bond as your partner will be the one to know most about you. This will make them feel special and, in turn, boost emotional closeness in your relationship.

4. Accept all of each other

No one is perfect; everyone has some flaws. The only difference is some have visible flaws, and some have flaws that are invisible. Judging a person by how they look is the biggest flaw a person can have.

When you are in a relationship, size, height, color, religion, and intelligence doesn’t matter; what matters is if you are willing to accept them with all those flaws.

No one has to change themselves to be liked by someone. That person does not deserve you if you can’t be yourself in front of them. In order to feel secured, you both need to accept each other unconditionally.

It’s not easy to let your guard down in front of someone, so make your partner feel safe with you, make them feel valued and loved.

5. Be supportive

Life is full of happiness and sadness. When I say that you have to be supportive, that applies to hard times and happy times.

Just remember that everyone needs someone special. Be that ‘someone special’ for your partner!

6. Feel blissful even with little things

Grand gestures are amazing, I know. Everyone expects their partner to do something big and wonderful for them. But remember to be happy even with small things.

Don’t anticipate your partner to get you a fancy dinner every Valentine’s Day. Be happy even when they order in your favorite food.

To improve the level of romance, just slip into a pair of matching pajamas and enjoy your food with your favorite Hallmark movie.

Also, watch this video for more tips to find happiness in your marriage :

Chunk of advice

Finding someone special isn’t about swiping left or right until you lurch upon it. It is a natural process.

Building a relationship with someone takes time. More when it comes to the emotional bond. But, it surely is the most rewarding aspect of life and one hundred percent worth the effort.

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Riya Rajpara

Riya Rajpara is a Human Resource and Family Studies student who loves to study in-depth about individual and family relations. She is also a social worker who loves to write about various human and family-related day to day life concerns. She is currently focused on exploring in the field of social... Read more studies and continues her journey being a blogger. Read less

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Sample Question

When you and your partner talk about something important…

We listen with care — even hard talks feel safe and productive

We try to talk, but lately emotional closeness feels harder to reach

I want to be open, but part of me still guards my heart

Our discussions sometimes spiral or end unresolved

It’s hard to feel close because our physical intimacy hasn’t felt strong lately

We often see things differently about goals or priorities

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