Trust can be defined as relying on the integrity, word, and promise of another individual.1 Most people would agree that trust is a vital part of a relationship. Those in romantic relationships may have noticed that trust does not always come naturally in relationships and often takes a lot of work to develop. A person must…
Tag: Relationships
How to Have “The Talk” With Your Parent
What Is “The Talk?” Some call it the tale of the “birds and the bees;” others call it “the talk.” Regardless of the name, it is almost always associated with feelings of awkwardness, anxiety, and uneasiness. “The talk” consists of a discussion between parents and their child(ren) about sex and sexuality. Many young people are…
The Mathematics of Love
Although human emotion is not rational, predictable, or easily quantifiable, love, like most life experiences is characterized by patterns: “from the number of sexual partners we have in our lifetime to how we message on an internet dating website. These patterns twist and turn and warp and evolve just as love does, and are all…
Staying in Love
Falling in love is a natural human phenomenon. People do not typically have to actively exert conscious effort to become attracted to someone and fall in love with them. Thanks to our biology, we are pre-programmed to desire close-knit relationships. For most people, this desire is fulfilled by forming intimate relationships with other human beings….
The Neurobiology of Romantic Love
Romantic love is one of the most universal human experiences. More than 20 years ago, biological anthropologist Helen Fisher studied 166 societies and found evidence of romantic love in 147 of them.1 According to Richard Schwartz, associate professor of psychiatry at MacLean Hospital, romantic love must be wired into our basic biological nature due to…
Asexuality
Sexuality exists on a continuum, and not within a dichotomy of heterosexual and homosexual. Thus, there are many different types of sexual orientation. Sexual orientation describes a person’s preferences for whom they find emotionally, romantically, and sexually attractive. One type of sexual orientation is asexuality, or the lack of sexual attraction to individuals of any gender. For example, someone might…