Strengthen your Relationship

Here we will talk about increasing intimacy within the couple in marriage or a relationship. Intimacy means closeness with your spouse or your partner. The closeness does not refer to physical closeness only; it refers to emotional, spiritual, intellectual and sexual closeness.

Intimacy has a very important role to play in a successful marriage or a relationship. Intimacy strengthens a relationship by providing a sense of satisfaction and belonging. It is an ongoing process which keeps changing with the change in age and time.

Would you believe?

Intimacy benefits your heart and has dramatic results particularly for men. Researchers of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland studied the level of intimacy of 10,000 married couples. They asked the husbands if their wives show love to them. Those, who answered yes, were found to have significant reduction in chest pain within the next five years compared to the husbands whose answers were a 'no'. (Reference: Ornish, 1998).

In another study conducted by Yale scientists on 119 men and 40 women, the result showed that the husbands who felt loved and supported by their wives, experienced less artery-blockage as compared to those who did not feel loved by their spouses. (Reference: Ornish).

According to marriage and family researcher Olson and Olson (2000), married people tend to be healthier, live longer, have more wealth and economic assets, and have more satisfying sexual relationships than single or cohabiting individuals.

Even couples with healthy intimacy come out of depression, worries and anxiety disorder sooner and enjoy the benefits of healthy mind through out their lives.

Heart condition and arterial health are the main organic contributors to a man's erectile function. And we are already aware of the role of emotions in a man's sexual life and erectile ability.

Factors of intimacy

Now, what are the factors of intimacy in a healthy relationship?

Increase intimacy in your relationship

Emotional Intimacy : The way to emotional intimacy goes through understanding your own feelings and thinking of reasons behind those feelings, then you will be able to express it to your spouse. After that you need to understand and show concern to the feelings of your spouse. With this balance you will gradually be able to wipe away the emotional differences and alienation in the relationship.

Mental or Intellectual Intimacy : To increase intellectual intimacy, you can set combined goal for important issues in your marriage, as for example, follow a fitness program, taking care of the kids.

Spiritual Intimacy : When couples share spiritual beliefs and perceptions, they come closer to each other intellectually as well as spiritually. You can take out time to go to church together and pray together.

Sexual Intimacy : It is one of the most important pillars to strengthen a good marriage. The main aspects of healthy sexual intimacy combine sexual frequency to satisfy both the partners, enjoying sexual activities to satisfy each other, and an open communication about sex within the couple. According to Olson and Olson, the major strength of a marriage depends upon the quality of sex.

Here are some ways to increase sexual intimacy:

More on Erectile Dysfunction :

• ED in a nutshell
• Emotional Edge of Impotence
• Role Of Partner
• Prevent ED
• Rejuvenate Sex Life with Cialis
• FAQ on All About Erectile Dysfunction
• Physical Factors
• Psychological/Emotional Factors
• Lifestyle Factors
• Erectile Dysfunction Notes
• FAQ on Factors leading to Erectile Dysfunction