WHAT DOES YOUR LOVE LANGUAGE HAVE TO DO WITH YOUR RELATIONSHIP?
We don’t need research to tell us that good relationships contribute to our well-being. Nonetheless, studies back it up: Having healthy and loving relationships means that we live longer, recover from illness quicker, give our immune systems a boost, have lower blood pressure, are more physically fit, enjoy better heart health and even feel less pain. Love makes the heart swoon, the world go round and we hope that it will fulfill the human needs to be understood, respected, valued and cared for. But how is it we express love to our closest ones?
That’s what Love Languages are all about. If you’re unfamiliar with this term, the theory of Love Languages was introduced by American author and pastor Gary Chapman, who spoke about 5 main ways in which we express love to another.
Here is a brief description of each kind of love language:
Words of Affirmation
This is the love language about expressing love to one’s partner through words. This includes words of appreciation, encouragement, compliments, staying in touch when you’re apart and other verbal ways to show you care. Saying words like “I love you”, “I miss you” or “I’m thinking about you” go a long way.
Physical Touch
As you can probably guess from its name, this love language is less verbose and relies on communicating love primarily through touch. This can range from a warm hug or a pat on the shoulder to handholding and other forms of physical intimacy.
Quality Time
This love language involves spending time with loved ones to express the depth of their love. Nothing shows you care like uninterrupted time and attention. People with this love language enjoy conversations and shared activities with their partner.
Receiving Gifts
This love language is all about showing love through tokens of appreciation, whether in the form of a handwritten note, surprising your partner with food or flowers, hobby materials you know your partner will love or something else. The gift doesn’t have to be grand – it’s the gesture that matters.
Acts of Service
This love language involves a great deal of paying attention and thoughtfulness. Different from giving traditional gifts, people with this love language show that they care through little actions, such as when they have tea ready for their partner when they wake up, or by doing the chores they know their partner doesn’t enjoy doing.