The post is developed in partnership with BetterHelp.
When couples first get married, most find it relatively easy to stay close, connected, and secure. However, as anniversaries pass and things like children, health concerns, and growing financial responsibilities are added to the mix, it can be more challenging to keep the passion alive.
Part of maintaining a healthy and satisfying marriage is knowing how to remain intimate with one another year after year. Keep reading to gain some useful tips and strategies for increasing intimacy in your marriage despite the changes and stressors life can bring.
Ways To Increase Marital Intimacy
Whether you’ve been married for two years or twenty, it’s never too late to work on the intimacy in your marriage. Rather than waiting until intimacy is an issue in your relationship, it can be helpful to be proactive about prioritizing the sense of closeness between you and your spouse. Below are several methods you might consider incorporating into your marriage to increase intimacy and satisfaction.
- Go on regular date nights: For married couples, going on at least one date night per week can be a powerful way to stay connected. However, because schedules are busy and everyone has varying demands, couples may need to adjust the frequency of date nights according to their unique needs. It’s not the amount of time spent together, but the quality of your dates. Try to do something new each time, such as going on a picnic, seeing a movie, or going mini golfing. Marking out time to spend with one another regularly can ensure that the two of you stay in the loop with one another’s lives.
- Work on your sex life: Marriages are set apart by their level of emotional and physical intimacy, with sex often playing a critical role in how satisfying the relationship is. Some ways to spice up your sex life include trying new things in the bedroom, focusing on foreplay and touch, and talking to one another during intercourse. Depending on you and your spouse’s schedule, sex may need to be scheduled, but this doesn’t have to take away from the experience. In fact, it can ensure that physical intimacy is prioritized.
- Improve your communication skills: Communication skills can often make or break a relationship. It’s important that you and your spouse feel comfortable expressing your desires and needs within the relationship and that you regularly show appreciation for one another. You might try hugging and kissing one another each time someone leaves the house or comes back home and saying good morning and goodnight every single day to show that you’re always thinking of the other. For tips on unique ways to say goodnight, visit https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/intimacy/are-you-looking-for-a-cute-way-to-say-goodnight/
- Attend therapy together: Going to therapy with your partner can help each of you identify areas of concern and understand how to improve individually and as a couple. A couples therapist can help pinpoint potential obstacles to intimacy within your marriage and equip you with strategies to overcome these barriers. They can also guide you through exercises meant to encourage emotional closeness and give you tips for connecting in ways that each spouse will be receptive to.
Every couple faces different challenges within their marriage. Some problems may last for a short time, while others can drag on for years when left unaddressed. Identifying concerns early on and working on them right away can help ensure that they don’t continue to grow and impact the relationship.
An Intimate Marriage Takes Work
Intimate marriages don’t come about by chance; rather, they are created with intentional effort and consistency. If you’re not sure where to begin in your journey to foster a closer relationship, try opening a conversation with your spouse. Letting them know what’s on your heart and involving them in the process can be paramount to success, and they may even have some ideas on how to get started. While intimate marriages may require a lifetime of work, many couples find the rewards of their relationship to be well worth it.
