by Barbara Webber

Created on: June 25, 2009   Last Updated: July 20, 2009

Long distance relationships are tough, no doubt about it, but they are not impossible and you can certainly survive tough situations if you prepare yourself for it. Here are several ways to survive a long distance relationship with little or no drama, from someone who has been there and done that!

TRUST

You have to trust that your significant other is going to be faithful to you even when you are separated for long periods of time. There is no way to know what your partner is doing at every minute of everyday, so if you don't just trust him or her, you will drive yourself crazy. OK, so you're thinking, 'easier said than done,' right? Wrong! Trust is a choice, and in any relationship, you either make that choice or you don't. Once you have decided that someone is trustworthy, you must just believe that you are right in trusting him/her. If something occurs to break that trust, well shame on them, but not shame on you. If you give your trust to someone you care about or love, you are doing the right thing.

Beyond hard proof of infidelity, you must just stick to your choice to trust. This is never more important than in a long distance relationship. When you do not see or even talk to a person every day, it makes it easy for suspicion to build. If you sense that happening, you must remind yourself that you trust this person, and therefore your suspicions are unwarranted. If you are dating someone you do not trust, the relationship will not be a very happy one, long distance or otherwise.

STAY POSITIVE

No one wants to call to talk to someone who sounds gloomy or sad. If your love is far away, be excited and happy when (s)he calls, even if you feel sad. You can certainly talk about the negative things in your life, but try not to answer the phone with that in mind. Think about it in terms of yourself; if every time you called your long distance lover, (s)he was gloomy and negative, you would hesitate to call. So take it upon yourself to be cheerful. Joy is contagious and even if your loved one is grumpy him/herself, your cheery disposition is likely to help cheer him/her up too! If you both adopt this attitude, you will look forward to calling one another and gain more enjoyment from your phone calls.

GET A LIFE

If the man or woman you are in a relationship is the focus of your life, long distance will likely result in your becoming depressed. If you have lost some of yourself in concentrating on your relationship, now is the time to re-claim, or even

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