Remember the old song by THE BEATLES, titled “All You Need Is Love” with verses like, “all you need is love, love, love, love, love is all you need”. Well some things never change because love is all we really do need to keep our relationships going strong.

Relationship experts have written volumes and volumes about the qualities and requirements of a healthy relationship. Books and articles have discussed the importance of sex, intimacy, communication and compromise and how these factors play a vital role in keeping your relationship healthy and strong. All of this is true.

However, the single most important component needed for a healthy, happy and intimate relationship is love.

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No man is an island; we are all wired for connections. Some would even say we live our lives in search of meaningful connections – and I, for one, couldn’t agree more with this sentiment. A happy healthy relationship is truly the foundation for everything else we do. All successes pale if we don’t have a special person with whom we can share them with. Research also tells us that happy relationships not only make us feel emotionally good – but they keep us physically healthy as well.

Following are 7 ways a happy healthy relationship makes you FEEL BETTER.

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Before we begin creating our romantic Valentine’s Day bedroom ambiance, we need a really quick review. Do you remember what your five senses are? Sight, Sound, Touch, Smell and Taste. Okay, now that we have that out of the way I am going to show you how to use these five senses to put an exclamation point ending on your romantic Valentine’s Day.

Let’s start with your sense of smell since this is usually the first thing we are aware of when we enter a room (or even prior to entering a room). It is really easy to create a romantic aroma in our bedroom because there are an endless array of aromatherapy candles and incense. So pick your favorite scented candle(s) and light it up! We are, after all, still mammals and our sense of smell triggers all sorts of chemical reactions in the brain that arouse our sensuality.

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Remember that old song that goes something like this: “you’ve lost that loving feeling now it’s gone, gone, gone and I can’t go on”. Well don’t you worry. I am going to help you get back that loving feeling with Dr. Patty Ann’s 3 Secrets for increasing intimacy in your relationship.

1. Take back your relationship. What I mean by this is you need to make your relationship the first priority in your life. The kids, the job, the garbage being taken out and the laundry can all wait. Take back your relationship by making time for it and letting everything else wait. The kids, the job, the garbage and the laundry will not disappear if you don’t attend to them immediately. Believe me, I have tried and no matter how hard I try, these responsibilities do not disappear if I ignore them. In my experience, they actually tend to multiply if I ignore them for awhile. (But that is a topic for another day.). Your relationship however, may not always be waiting for you if you are always giving it a back seat to other responsibilities in your life. Common sense dictates the more time you spend with each other, the greater your chances are for re-establishing the intimacy you once had in your relationship. You will be surprised how far a little bit of time spent alone together will go towards increasing intimacy in your relationship.

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In my book about relationship advice titled: “The 3 Most Effective Ways to Increase Romance and Happiness in Your Relationship”, I addressed how small acts of kindness go a long way in any life situation. Remember when we talked about how it makes you smile when your partner brings you a cup of coffee in bed in the morning or brings home your favorite flavor ice cream? These little acts of kindness and gestures go a long way to increasing happiness and romance in your relationship.

Little acts of kindness provide your relationship with more intimacy, happiness and better sex.

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A few years ago I saw a person in my office who told me there is no such thing as a one-handed clap. This is so true. There is also no such thing as a healthy, intimate relationship if the individuals that make up the relationship are only focused on themselves and not their relationship as a whole. Healthy relationships are about two people dedicated to the “we-ness” of the relationship and not the “me-ness”. All healthy relationships require the dedication of two people committed to the “team” aspect of their partnership.

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We all have our own individual “hot buttons”. I am pretty sure you know what I mean but here are a few examples. You might have a particular way you like to hang the towels in the bathroom or a special way you like to fold your clothes. On a more serious note, you might hold a staunch political position or religious belief.

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M-O-N-E-Y. M-O-N-E-Y. M-O-N-E-Y!!!!!

That’s right – you got it – money. So what is all this fighting about money mean? At first glance money fights seem to be about exactly that – money. Who spent too much money on what? Who doesn’t make enough money. Fights about “you don’t give me enough money” or “you don’t save enough money”. And on and on and on it goes. Nothing ever really changes and certainly nothing ever gets resolved. You might as well just hit what I call the “money fight rewind button” on the tape recorder. So what is really going on here?

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After a while it is normal for the honeymoon phase of the relationship to dissipate. You know, when you and your partner are no longer “over the moon” for each other. LOL. This is when it is really important to avoid a total eclipse of the heart.

1. First, get real! That’s right – be realistic about your expectations for what you want from your relationship now that the honeymoon phase is over. If you think your partner is going to “make” you happy or “make” you complete or “feel brand new” like they might have in the early stages of your relationship– think again. You are responsible for your own happiness and completeness. Sure, your partner compliments your happiness but they are not responsible for it – nor will they make you whole. Got it?

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You have developed a friendship with a person of the opposite sex. You might have met them at work. Or maybe you were re-acquainted with them on Facebook after having lost touch with each other over the years. But as time goes on, and your friendship deepens, you might now be asking yourself: “Has this friendship turned into an emotional affair?

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