The Most Important Emotional Needs

Intimate Conversation

The need for conversation can be ethically met by anyone. But the need for intimate conversation should be met exclusively in marriage if it's one of your most important emotional needs. That's because if someone of the opposite sex meets it outside of marriage, it will deposit so many love units that you may fall in love with that person. So if it's your need, it's crucial to your marital happiness that your spouse is the one who meets it.

The need for intimate conversation is not met by simply talking to someone. It is met when it meets certain criteria. Intimate conversation is characterized by the following: (1) using it to inform and investigate each other, (2) focusing attention on topics of mutual interest, (3) balancing the conversation so both have an equal opportunity to talk, and (4) giving each other undivided attention while talking to each other.

Intimate conversation fails to meet this need when (1) demands are made, (2) disrespect is shown, (3) one or both become angry, or (4) when it is used to dwell on mistakes of the past or present. Unless conversation is mutually enjoyable, a couple is better off not talking to each other at all. An unpleasant conversation not only fails to meet the emotional need, but it also makes it less likely that there will be an opportunity to meet the need in the future. That's because we tend to prevent our spouse from meeting our needs if earlier attempts were painful to us.

Men and women don't have too much difficulty talking to each other during courtship. That's a time of information-gathering for both partners. Both are highly motivated to discover each other's likes and dislikes, personal background, current interests and plans for the future. But after marriage, many women find that the man who would spend hours talking to her on the telephone, now seems to have lost all interest in talking to her, and spends his spare time watching television or reading.

If your need for intimate conversation was fulfilled during courtship, you also expect it to be met after marriage. And if you fell in love because your need for intimate conversation was met by your spouse during courtship, you risk falling out of love if that need is not met during marriage.

Do you have a craving just to talk to someone intimately? Do you pick up the telephone just because you feel like connecting with someone?

If you enjoy intimate conversation, and are frustrated when you haven't been able to talk to someone intimately for a while, consider it to be one of your most important emotional needs.


Learn to meet the need of Intimate Conversation

 

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