We’re all adjusting to being suddenly long distance, even if you live in the same town or city. This can be especially difficult when your relationship is just starting out.
While they say absence makes the heart grow fonder, it certainly doesn’t make intimacy any easier. It makes it like, really difficult. But not impossible.
Our relationships are going to be incredibly important for keeping us positive during this crisis, so here’s how you can keep things steamy while staying safe.
How To Keep Things Going With Your Crush During Lockdown:
Make Time For Conversations Every Day
Communication is one of the most vital components of any relationship. When it comes to romance, having time for conversation can help build intimacy even if you can’t physically be around each other.
Learn more about each other: what you have in common, what kind of pizza they like, whether they’re the kind of person who’s actually been getting dressed every day or if they’ve just been slumming it in the same pair of sweatpants for two weeks.
You can also take this opportunity to start creating deeply-layered in-jokes that only you two will understand, much to the annoyance of everyone else around you when you finally get to leave lockdown.
We should also be free to talk about our feelings, whether it’s about our relationships or how we’re managing things in general.
Tensions will run high over the course of the lockdown due to stress, loneliness, or just sheer boredom, but one of the easiest ways to remedy this is to be honest about how you’re coping.
Of course, conversations don’t all have to be about emotional support, part of having a crush is having someone that you can chat, laugh, and flirt with.
Of course, everyone has a slightly different way of flirting, and showing affection. If you learn this about each other, it can help your communication become even stronger.
Learn Each Other’s Love Language
Everyone has a way of giving and receiving affection that they like best. It’s called a love language, and there are several different types: physical touch, verbal affirmation, gifts, acts of service, and spending quality time together.
Using the right love language for someone can really help them feel wanted, appreciated, and cared for. This is hugely important during a time where we might not feel as close as we would in other circumstances.
Learning someone’s love language can help you avoid arguments, which is good when we’re all under more stress than usual.
Those of us who respond to physical touch will find things especially difficult, so recognising that can help with understanding how they feel.
But there are other ways you can build intimacy - continuing to make time for virtual dates can help keep the romance alive.
Don’t Give Up On Date Nights
Just because we’re all stuck inside doesn’t mean we have to give up on going on dates.
There are lots of date nights you can do while isolating, whether it’s watching a movie, cooking together, or playing a game.
A date should be time just for the two of you, where you can be present with each other and not worry about anything else.
These date nights remind us that romance is still possible, that we’re still connected, and that we can still have moments of intimacy even during this difficult time.
Give Each Other Some Space
That being said, we’re all going to need some time for ourselves every once in a while.
Just because we all have a lot more time on our hands doesn’t mean we have to spend all that time texting or video chatting.
If you need time alone, that’s ok.
Make Plans For The Future
Remember that this isn’t going to last forever.
Make plans to go to that restaurant you’ve always wanted to visit, to take a trip to somewhere you’ve never been, or to just go to your favourite bar.
Whatever you want to do, talk about your plans, and make a list that you can look forward to completing.
How are you keeping the romance alive?
