When relationships struggle, the first thing that a couple loses is trust. Trust is not just about major problems like infidelity. When your relationship struggles you start to lose trust in your partner’s affection and love. You start to believe that your partner isn’t there for you when you need them. You start to feel as though you cannot be intimate with your partner. As your trust fades, your relationship goes with it, since in many ways a relationship itself is a bond of ultimate trust.
Trust Building Exercises
Building trust is a long term process. You can help that process along by participating in some relationship trust building exercises. Everyone has seen the exercise where someone falls back into the arms of a partner. These simple tasks seem silly at first, but they force you to trust your partner, and that trust will build over time.
Three Trust Exercises to Try
- Running Blind – Many people have seen the team building exercise where one partner is blindfolded and walks slowly around a forest with the other partner guiding them. Walking is fine. Running is better. Running blind shows a great deal of trust, because a small mistake can have you running dangerously fast into something solid and painful. Blindfold one partner completely so that they cannot even see the ground. Start off with a slow jog and try to work your way up to a full sprint. The partner without the blindfold should notify their partner of not only obstacles, but also the type of ground, direction, speed, and anything else that could be an obstacle.
- Public Affection – The more your relationship is known to others, the more you will trust each other. When trust fades, it is not uncommon to hide your relationship with others. At the very least you do not talk about it openly unless prompted. Hiding your relationship causes trust to be lost. One trust building exercise is to simply show a great deal of public displays of affection. Making out in the middle of a crowded park may seem a little embarrassing, but by telling the world “Hey everyone, we’re together!” the two of you will be able to trust each other more.
- Hold Hands Through Everything – Trust building exercises are about showing your partner that you are always going to be there for them, no matter the argument or the discussion. One way to do that is physically. When you are having any discussion about any topic, interlock your fingers and stand close during the discussion. Show each other that you are not going anywhere, no matter how heated the discussion becomes. An argument that doesn’t push you physically apart will keep you closer emotionally as well.
Building Trust Over Time
In addition to these trust building exercises, you need to live your lives in a manner that helps you and your partner trust each other. There should be no secrets, and everything on your mind should be put up for discussion in a calm and collected manner. These exercises are only one part of a trust building program. Everything else takes time and effort from both partners.