There are many aspects to maintain Healthy, happy relationshipsbut it is also important how your relationship affects your emotional health. Research shows This kind of interpersonal relationship is largely where people gain meaning in their lives, which is defined by researchers because of how people “understand, understand, or see the meaning in their lives.” But it is not clear how to help people find meaning.
A recent study brings us closer to the answer: McGill University study, published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychologycouples who share a common worldview (whose understanding of the world on the same page) have less uncertainty and find more meaning in life.
The researchers conducted five studies of nearly 1,300 adults in the United States and Canada, summarizing data from laboratory-based tasks, online surveys and experiments. They are testing the hypothesis that experiencing a shared sense of reality with an intimate partner can reduce uncertainty about the environment, thereby promoting meaning in work and life. For example, they found that during the Black Lives Matter demonstration, frontline health care workers during the 19th pandemic and Black Americans reported that when their partners’ understanding of the world matched their own, they felt less uncertain and more meaningful.
“Our approach is different from earlier work on how relationships promote meaning, which tends to focus on aspects such as belonging or support.” Press release. “We set out to explore whether sharing ideas about the world with our romantic partners, thinking and concerns can enhance meaning by reducing uncertainty about the environment.”
What is the sharing reality like to share with your partner
According to this study, sharing the perception of reality with your partner helps make your reality look real while validating your point of view. As time goes by, the more experience you share with your partner, the closer you can get to sharing your worldview.
“As couples accumulate common experience, shared feelings, goals and memories, they develop a comprehensive reality,” said John Lydon, senior author of McGill University psychology professor, in a press release. “It’s different from just feeling close or being supported. It’s not just ‘my partner makes me’, it’s ‘we get it.'”
Enestrom points out that common reality can emerge from consistent experience and explanation.
“For example, when a couple watches a horror movie together, shared reality can form, and one or two partners think they both find it frightening,” she said. “But a shared reality doesn’t necessarily require shared experience. A partner can describe the stressful things they’ve experienced, and if another partner sees it the same way, then that can also promote shared reality.”
She explained that the more realistic experiences you accumulate together, the more likely you are to build a common understanding of the entire world. As couples get closer through common reality, researchers also observe greater meaning in life, in which individuals have a strong sense of purpose, which feels like Research shows It can bring better responses, greater happiness and improved health outcomes.
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