That said, considering the possibilities below can give you some guidance on boundaries for your friendship. For example, you might spend the night with a friend occasionally but sleep in separate beds. If not, you might want to reconsider. Plenty of friends feel comfortable discussing sex , masturbation, and aspects of their romantic relationships with each other. Others may avoid detailed conversations but share general information.
Some friends may avoid the topic entirely. It depends on what works for both of you. If one of you feels uncomfortable, your friendship could suffer. Casual flirting happens in a lot of relationships.
Around your platonic friends, at least, it can help to keep your banter innuendo-free. Any friendship can face challenges from time to time.
Being mindful of issues common to platonic friendships can help you avoid them. Again, friendship styles can vary, so some friendships can seem very intimate to outsiders.
Context can also matter. A group of friends stripping down together to go skinny dipping may not lead to any confusion or mixed signals. Two people alone together doing the same thing could potentially open the doors to some sexual tension. You might worry about losing the friendship. Unfortunately, that can happen. However, plenty of adults are capable of handling romantic disclosures in a healthy way. Talking about your feelings could even bring you closer together.
If you bury them instead, you might experience jealousy and resentment when your friend dates someone else. Strong communication characterizes most good friendships. Again, if your feelings toward your friend change, talking through those feelings early on generally yields better results than avoiding them. Similarly, if you start to have an inkling your friend might have romantic feelings for you, asking them outright can help them feel comfortable opening up.
Knowing what a platonic relationship is and how to sustain it can sometimes be the difference between a long-lasting and healthy platonic relationship and losing a friend.
In other words, platonic love taught us to pursue greater goals and essentially motivate each other to become the best versions of ourselves. However, the term has adopted slightly different meanings since Ancient Greece but the key traits can still be applied to any relationship. Today, platonic love or a platonic relationship is typically between two people that are just friends and their love for each other does not feature any physical lust or romantic involvement.
It is not uncommon for lines to become blurred in platonic relationships, especially between the opposite sex. This becomes especially difficult if one person in the relationship becomes attracted to the other. This should help you identify whether you love is platonic or it means something more.
Even if these boundaries are never openly discussed, they are there, they are always there and they must remain present. The more you develop the relationship, the more you will learn what boundaries you can and cannot break, for example if you were to ever share a room, knowing whether you would share a bed is an important point to raise to ensure no boundaries are unintentionally crossed. However, with a platonic relationship or platonic love , your expectations are considerably lower.
Accessed 13 Nov. Nglish: Translation of platonic for Spanish Speakers. Britannica English: Translation of platonic for Arabic Speakers. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Save Word.
Essential Meaning of platonic. Our relationship was strictly platonic. Full Definition of platonic. Two Meanings of Platonic The two most common senses of platonic come from the same source, yet are different enough in meaning that it is rather important to distinguish between them. The concept originates in the ideas of the ancient philosopher Plato, from whose name the term is derived.
Where Plato believed this type of love could bring people closer to a divine ideal, the modern use of the term is focused on the idea of people being close friends. The opposite of a platonic relationship is a sexual or romantic relationship. While the term is sometimes thought to apply only to opposite-sex friends, it can also apply to same-sex friendships as well. There are a number of characteristics that distinguish a platonic relationship from some other types of relationships.
In addition to the lack of a sexual aspect, this type of relationships also tends to be marked by:. These types of relationships are often friendships. And while the lack of a sexual relationship is what characterizes this type of connection, it does not necessarily mean that the individuals in the relationship are not attracted to each other or could not start to feel attracted to one another.
A few different terms have emerged to describe some different types of platonic relationships. These include:. Platonic relationships can be important for psychological well-being. Research has found that having social support plays a vital role in mental health, so building a network of people that include family, platonic friends, and other loved ones can be important for your overall wellness. Some things that you can do to help foster platonic relationships include:.
In addition to developing new platonic relationships, it is also important to understand how to keep the ones you have now healthy and strong. Some ways to do this include being supportive, maintaining boundaries , and practicing honesty. There are a number of reasons why having platonic relationships is important for your health and well-being.
Some of the positive effects that these relationships may bring to your life include:. Research suggests that having love and support from people in your life can have important health benefits. This type of support can lower your risk for disease, improve your immunity, and decrease your risk for depression and anxiety.
Your platonic support system can help provide emotional support by listening to what you have to say, providing validation , and helping you when you are in need. Stress can take a serious toll on both your physical and mental health. Chronic or prolonged stress can contribute to health problems such as cardiac disease, high blood pressure, digestive issues, and decreased immunity.
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