Friendship between a man and an adult woman is often questioned. Their relationship is often suspected of having other motives behind the friendship. However, is it true that men and women can't really just be friends?
Actually, whether or not a woman and an adult man can establish a friendly relationship is very dependent on the goals of each party. There are those who are indeed suitable to be good friends who can take care of each other and care for each other, there are also those who secretly hold more attraction to each other, both emotionally and sexually.
Recognizing Signs of a Relationship More Than Friendship
To avoid misunderstandings between you and your friends, there are several things that you can make a sign if your friendship relationship has led to a love relationship. Following are some of them:
- You have romantic feelings and thoughts for your friend.
- You think about your friends more often than usual, maybe even throughout the day.
- You miss your friend when you're not with him.
- Even though you already have a partner, you feel more trust in your male or female friends than in your own partner.
- You remember your male or female friends while having sex with your partner.
- Your emotional closeness to your friends affects your relationship with your partner.
Tips for Keeping Friendship Healthy
The following are some tips that you can do so that the friendship between you and your friend of the opposite sex remains healthy:
Understand the motivation of friendship
Everyone's goal in making friends with the opposite sex can be different. Sometimes friendship between a man and a woman is the beginning of a relationship of love and commitment. However, there are also friendships that really want to support each other, without expecting a romantic relationship. Understand the purpose of your friendship and try not to violate it.
Communicate each other's motivations honestly
You and your friends of the opposite sex must be honest with each other with the motivation of the friendship that exists between you. The reason is, dishonesty can have the opportunity to make one or both parties feel pressured and even damage friendly relations. For example, you wish you wanted to be in a romantic relationship, but your friend only wants to be in a friendly relationship.
If your feelings turn out to be one-sided, it's a good idea to consider keeping your distance from the friend. Likewise if he has feelings for you, while you just want to be friends. Especially if you already have a partner, because this can cause damage to the relationship between you and your partner.
So in conclusion, men and women can actually establish friendly relations, but with a record that both parties do have the same motivation and goals for the friendly relationship.
