Dating : Communication issues
How do you deal with communication issues when dating? I don’t open up easily, but I do think it’s important to discuss feelings and what you want out of the relationship, so that you can be on the same page. To me, it’s also important to let my partner know through words that I care, so I give compliments, and tell them that I enjoyed hanging out. Because of this, I find it frustrating when a partner doesn’t tell me what they want or if they are interested. I’m obviously not expecting anybody to profess their love for me, or give me a bunch of compliments, but when we have had conversations about how important communication is to me and I still mainly get « sure », « yeah maybe », or « ok », I don’t really know what to do. I’d like to know where I stand with a partner without seeming like a crazy person.
That is frustrating when you don’t feel heard in a relationship; I wouldn’t feel heard if I got a « sure, « yeah, » « maybe, » or « okay » about this topic, haha. Communication is clearly important to you and rightfully so; its mutually beneficial when practiced well. Everyone should feel heard in a relationship. And I too would want some sort of validation.
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I don’t know if I have good advice about your communication issue but I think you are doing the right thing by expressing your feelings to your partner. Communication is something I have really struggled with and I know it was hard for the last person I dated when I kept things in because they were left guessing what I was feeling, haha.
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Not feeling validated and how you express affectionate feelings to your partner is making me think about a book I heard of called the Five Love Languages. I have not read it (because I am uncultured), but basically it covers the various ways to express affection. Quote the Wiki, » According to Chapman [author], the five ways to express and experience love that Chapman calls « love languages » are receiving gifts, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service (devotion) and physical touch. » I’m not sure if any of these ideas might be beneficial to you and your partner? It sounds like like words of affirmation are important to you (they are to me as well).