Emotionally Intimate Relationship

An Emotionally Intimate Relationship is an intimate relationship that involves one of the emotional agents experiencing a state of emotional intimacy.

• Context:
  • It can (typically) involve Emotional Trust.
  • It can range from being a Weak Emotionally Intimate Relationship to being a Strong Emotionally Intimate Relationship.
  • It can range from being a Short-Term Emotionally Intimate Relationship to being a Medium-Term Emotionally Intimate Relationship to being a Long-Term Emotionally Intimate Relationship.
  • It can (typically) be between a Small Agent Group, and range from (typically) be a 2-Being Emotionally Intimate Relationship (e.g. an intimate couple) to being a Poly-Being Emotionally Intimate Relationship (e.g. a nuclear family or polyamory) to being a Many-Being Emotionally Intimate Relationship (like an extended family).
  • It can be a Human-Human Emotionally Intimate Relationship, Gorilla-Gorilla Emotionally Intimate Relationship, ...
• Example(s):
  • the de Beauvoir and Sartre Relationship.
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• Counter-Example(s):
  • Physical Intimacy (preceded by sexual attraction).
  • Intellectual Intimacy.
  • Experiential Intimacy.
• See: Affect (Psychology), Emotion, Love, Trust (Sociology), Convention (Norm), Personal Space, Holding Hands, Hug, Kiss, Petting, Human Sexual Activity.

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References

2017

• (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intimacy Retrieved:2017-11-11.
  • Emotional intimacy is an aspect of interpersonal relationships that varies in intensity from one relationship to another and varies from one time to another, much like physical intimacy. Emotional intimacy involves a perception of closeness to another that allows sharing of personal feelings, accompanied by expectations of understanding, affirmation, and demonstration of caring. Affect, emotion and feeling may refer to different phenomena. Emotional intimacy may refer to any or all of those in both a lay or a professional context.

2017b

• (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intimate_relationship#Types Retrieved:2017-11-11.
  • Emotional intimacy, particularly in sexual relationships, typically develops after a certain level of trust has been reached and personal bonds have been established. The emotional connection of "falling in love", however, has both a biochemical dimension, driven through reactions in the body stimulated by sexual attraction (PEA, phenylethylamine), and a social dimension driven by "talk" that follows from regular physical closeness or sexual union.

2016

• (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ http://wikipedia.org/wiki/emotional_intimacy Retrieved:2016-1-26.
  • … Emotional intimacy can be expressed in verbal and non-verbal communication. The degree of comfort, effectiveness, and mutual experience of closeness might indicate emotional intimacy between individuals. Intimate communication is both expressed (e.g. talking) and implied (e.g. friends sitting close on a park bench in silence). Emotional intimacy depends primarily on trust, as well as the nature of the relationship and the culture in which it is observed. Emotional intimacy is different from sexual intimacy. Sexual intimacy can take place with or without emotional intimacy, which differs from emotional intimacy because it often does not occur within any kind of sexual context. Emotional intimacy is a psychological event that happens when trust levels and communication between two people are such that it fosters the mutual sharing of one another's deepest selves. Emotional intimacy can be shared with not just your partner in life, but with friends, family, colleagues, even pets. Depending on the background and conventions of the participants, emotional intimacy might involve disclosing thoughts, feelings and emotions in order to reach an understanding, offer mutual support or build a sense of community. Or it might involve sharing a duty, without commentary. Deep intimacy requires a high level of transparency and openness. This involves a degree of vulnerability that can feel uncomfortable or anxiety-producing to many individuals. These feelings do, however, tend to diminish and even dissolve over time and with practice. Couples who partake in this act of emotional intimacy are able to be more comfortable with each other. They feel they can share their dreams and their positive characteristics, along with the negative characteristics that they may have. There are great moments and also tough moments that come along within a relationship. Emotional intimacy is being able to communicate your feelings to show how much you care.

2016b

• (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ http://wikipedia.org/wiki/intimate_relationship#Types Retrieved:2016-2-17.
  • Scholars distinguish between four different forms of intimacy: physical, emotional, cognitive, and experiential.
    • Physical intimacy is sensual proximity or touching, examples include being inside someone's personal space, holding hands, hugging, kissing, petting and other sexual activity.
    • Emotional intimacy, particularly in sexual relationships, typically develops after a certain level of trust has been reached and personal bonds have been established. The emotional connection of "falling in love", however, has both a biochemical dimension, driven through reactions in the body stimulated by sexual attraction (PEA, phenylethylamine), and a social dimension driven by "talk" that follows from regular physical closeness or sexual union.

2016c

• https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/feb/16/why-relationship-breakups-hurt-brain-neuroscience
  • QUOTE: … differentiate between a desire for sex, AKA lust, and the deeper, more personal attraction and bonding we associate with romance and love, things more often sought and found with long-term relationships. People can (and frequently do) enjoy purely physical sexual interactions with others that they have no real “fondness” for apart from an appreciation for their appearance, and even that is not essential. Sex is a tricky thing to pin down with the brain, as it underlies much of our adult thinking and behaviour. But this isn’t really about lust; we’re talking more about love, in the romantic sense, for one specific individual. There is a lot of evidence to suggest the brain processes love differently.

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