The Oxford English Dictionary defines intimacy as the “inmost thoughts or feelings; proceeding from, concerning, or affecting one’s inmost self: closely personal.”
Simply intimacy can be defined as the sense of closeness and connection that transcends physical contact and may bring emotional, mental and spiritual understanding to any relationship.
In its etymological context, the word intimacy is derived from the Latin word “intimus”, which means “inner” or ‘innermost.’
True intimacy in a relationship can be a substitute for sex, albeit with its broader meaning in its distinct context. On the other hand, intimacy isn’t just the wax that keeps us connected to others, but the climatic ambience created with the special people in your life.
To understand the meaning of intimacy better, you must look into the angles of broader aspects in a strict sense. True intimacy is more of the psychological state instead of being limited to a physical level where both couples feel close to each other and play a give-and-take cycle to make the true intimacy in a relationship become perfect.
Each person must perform their part well to engage, demonstrate, or receive empathy at the other end.
When you eagerly want to build true intimacy, chances are high that your wishes might not favour you because relationships do not come naturally and sometimes it takes time to practice and develop.
Similarly, you may sense that the true intimacy you want to build in a relationship is not picking results, this might not mean it won’t work out, but it means it might take time to cultivate. Therefore, knowing how to create more true intimacy in a relationship is very important.
A satisfying romantic relationship is essential for both partners to achieve marriage satisfaction and health status, according to Hinchliff and Gott, 2004: Hook, Gerstein, Detterich, et al. The study found that the couple's emotional intimacy makes significant contributions to relationship quality, as it helps to buffer daily stress and thus enhances the partners’ well-being and adjustment.
The study also found colleagues who conducted a series of experimental studies found sexual desire increased when the partner was perceived as or was actually exhibiting higher emotional responsiveness, which is considered a building block of a couple of intimacy. “The effect was found to be stronger in women than in men. The findings found the temporal dynamics of the links between intimacies, sexual desire and partnered sexual activity by collecting data during multiple daily assessments.”
True intimacy in a relationship may involve the following qualities:
Authenticity
Authenticity is a celebrated attribute that most researchers point to as an ingredient for true intimacy to be reached on. Although authenticity sometimes creates room for fears rooted in the way a child was treated during childhood.
For instance, children whose parents persistently rejected them risk avoiding emotional intimacy when they grow.
Parental rejection may include a lack of comfort, emotional unavailability, and lack of sympathy and empathy. In contrast, those who receive enough emotional care from their parents tend to meet the required true intimacy in a relationship.
Warmth
True intimacy in a relationship may involve warmth which is psychologically safe for normal relationships to thrive. Warmth in the aspects of true intimacy might look like friendliness, empathy, thoughtfulness and empathy.
Confidentiality
For true intimacy to be rendered, emotional safety must be established as the bedrock of all healthy relationships. In addition, it may require that the two people engage in an atmosphere of connection and vulnerability while strengthening closeness. It also means that thoughts and emotions are reserved in a particular direction.
Vulnerability
Multiple psychologists and scholars have come to agree vulnerability is one of the components of showing true intimacy, which fosters trust with a clear message that you, too, trust the receiving person. On the ground levels of vulnerability, mental experts say our lovers, lover, or mate can know us more than we know we know ourselves and might be the reason vulnerability is scary.