What are Platonic Relationships? A Complete Look at How to Make a Platonic Relationship Work

Platonic relationships are often misunderstood by those who have not experienced them. They are not just about sex. They are about friendship and companionship. They can be very fulfilling and enjoyable.

Platonic relationships are based on mutual respect and understanding and the ability to communicate openly. A platonic relationship is not a romance, but it is a friendship. It's also not a sexual relationship, but it can be intimate.

It's all about the chemistry between two people, and this is where it starts. Of course, it takes time and effort to make a platonic relationship work, But it can be done if you follow these simple steps below.

What Are Platonic Relationships?

A platonic relationship is based on mutual respect for one another, which does not involve any romantic or sexual attraction. While platonic relationships can be enjoyable, they do not involve the same level of intimacy as those with romantic partners.

Platonic relationships are common among people who are not in a committed relationship, including friends, family members, colleagues, neighbors, and even acquaintances. However, it can be challenging to maintain a platonic relationship with someone who is in a romantic relationship.

For example, a friend interested in your partner may make it clear that they want to date them. This can be upsetting for both of you, making it hard to maintain a platonic friendship.

When you're in a platonic relationship, you may still enjoy talking to your friend, but you won't feel jealous or possessive about your friend spending time with your partner. You can still have fun with your friend, but you won't feel compelled to spend time with them alone or ask them personal questions.

If you're looking for a platonic relationship, it's important to remember that people are usually attracted to others for reasons other than romance. So while you may have feelings for someone, it's also possible that they have feelings for you.

You may find yourself attracted to your friend, which can be challenging to handle. It may be helpful to talk to your friend about your feelings and see if they are interested in dating you.

Relationships That Are Not Platonic

Friendship is a beautiful thing, and platonic friendships are a great way to build trust and get to know someone better. But sometimes, it can be hard to distinguish between a genuine friendship and one that is simply a cover for something else.

Here are the things that are not part of a platonic relationship:

Friends with benefits

Friends with benefits are relationships that are primarily about sex. There is a lot of sexual attraction, but there is no friendship.

This type of relationship can be fun for a short period of time, but it's not something that should be expected to last. It's a quick way to get what you want, but it's not a long-term solution.

Having a platonic friendship doesn't mean that you're just friends with benefits. It means that you are friends with each other and that you're not sexually involved with each other.

It's also important to remember that friends with benefits are not healthy relationships. They are not mainly based on friendship, and mutual respect and emotions can get hurt easily.

Unrequited love

Unrequited love is when you're in a relationship with someone, and you want them to like you, but they don't. This can be difficult to handle, and you may feel sad, angry, or jealous.

While unrequited love can be painful, it's not the same as having a platonic friendship. In a platonic friendship, you're friends, and you're not interested in each other romantically.

Friendship with an ulterior motive

Sometimes, friends can be interested in each other for reasons other than friendship. This can be a problem if you're not careful.

For example, you may have a platonic friendship with someone, but you also want to date them. This can be hard to manage, making it hard to maintain a platonic friendship.

It's also important to remember that friends with ulterior motives can be difficult to tell apart from genuine friendships.

Post-breakup friendships

If you're in a relationship and it ends, you may be tempted to keep the friendship. However, it's important to remember that you don't have to maintain a friendship.

You were once romantically and sexually attracted to each other, and it will be hard to get over that completely. So it's essential to let go of the friendship if you don't want to keep feeling sad and lonely.

It will keep the relationship platonic if you have had past sexual and romantic feelings for your friend even if it becomes a sexless marriage.

The Different Types of Platonic Relationships

There are different types of platonic relationships, and you can have more than one platonic relationship simultaneously.

These include:

• Bromance: This is a non-sexual but very affectionate relationship between two men. It's a friendship usually based on a lot of shared interests, such as sports, music, or hobbies.
• Womance: A womance is a relationship between two or more women that are very close but not sexual or romantic. Womance combines the words "woman with "romance." There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the definition of a womance will vary depending on the individuals involved. However, some examples of what might be considered a womance include working together, sharing similar interests, and being family members or friends.
• Work spouse: This is a platonic relationship that develops between two people at work. The two people may be colleagues or coworkers, or they may be in different departments. Coworkers or colleagues can be described as 'work spouses,' a close but non-sexual relationship involving bonds and sometimes even roles similar to a marriage.
• Best friend: Best friends are platonic friends based on mutual trust and respect. They are usually friends you've known for a long time, usually most of their lives.

How Do You Form Platonic Relationships

Having platonic relationships is excellent for your mental health and can be an essential part of living a happy life. However, forming these types of relationships can be challenging. The key is to find people similar to you in some way, whether it be age, gender, culture, or interests. Once you've found these people, you can start developing friendships with them.

There are many ways to form platonic relationships, including:

Online: The internet has made it easier to find people with similar interests and hobbies. You can also use social media to find people with similar interests and hobbies, such as Facebook or Instagram.

Personal: If you're looking for platonic friends, you can try meeting people in person. For example, you can try attending a party or club with friends. You can also try volunteering or joining a community group.

Some people are surprised when they find out that I am not in a relationship. And why is that? I feel that I'm very good at building solid platonic relationships. I have a lot of friends who are in relationships, but I feel that I'm able to build better platonic relationships than most people can.

Platonic relationships can be vital for your mental health. They can help you form bonds with other people, making you feel more secure, happy, and connected to the world.

To foster platonic relationships, you can do the following:

It's important to create new platonic relationships and keep those you already have healthy and strong. Support, boundaries, and honesty are some ways to accomplish this.

The Impact of Platonic Relationships

There are several reasons why having platonic relationships is essential for your health and well-being. Some positive outcomes of platonic relationships include:

Love and Support

According to research, people who are loved and supported have a significant improvement in their health. As a result, you are less likely to contract diseases, improve your immunity, and decrease your chance of developing depression and anxiety. In addition, your platonic support system can help provide emotional support by listening to what you have to say, providing validation, and helping when you are in need.

Lower Stress

Physical and mental health can be negatively affected by stress. In addition to heart disease, high blood pressure, digestive problems, and decreased immunity, chronic or prolonged stress can lead to other health problems. Anxiety and depression can also be triggered by it.

Having people in your life who you can count on can help you deal with stress and anxiety. When you have people in your life who are trustworthy and dependable, you can rely on them to help you cope with stressful situations.

Strengthen Social Bonds

Platonic relationships can strengthen your social bonds. You can get to know people similar to you and build a strong friendships with them. This can help you build stronger bonds with other people in your life.

Better Physical Health

Research suggests that having a supportive platonic relationship can also help you have better physical health. For example, in one study, researchers found that people who had a platonic support system were more likely to exercise and have healthier diets.

Increased Resilience

Having a platonic support system can also increase your resilience. Resilience is the ability to adapt and bounce back from harmful situations. Having a solid platonic support system can help you be more resilient when facing adverse situations, such as illness, death, or relationship problems.

Keep your boundaries 

Boundaries are important in platonic relationships. Boundaries can help you stay safe and avoid unhealthy situations. It can also help you have more control over your life.

Platonic relationships can also help you learn to say no. Saying no can be difficult for some people. You may feel that you are letting someone down or being selfish by saying no. But it is essential to learn how to say no to protect yourself. In addition, saying no can help you build healthy boundaries and keep your life in order.

Boundaries help protect your well-being. It protects your emotions, but it also demonstrates you respect the other person's needs and requirements in the friendship. Although everyone has their own boundaries, I have listed a few examples of boundaries you may want to discuss with your friend.

Discuss and talk about sexual relationships

If you are in a platonic relationship with someone, you should talk about how you want to talk about sexual relationships.

Some people feel more comfortable talking about sex with their partners. Others feel more comfortable talking about it with friends.

You may want to talk about how you feel comfortable with your friend talking about sex. Or, you may want to have a general conversation about how you feel about the topic.

It's essential to be clear about how you want to talk about sex.

I have covered the signs to look for if he says he just wants to be friends but is lying.

Watch your flirting

While flirting is a standard part of platonic relationships, it's important to be clear about what you want and don't want in a platonic relationship.

If you want to be in a platonic relationship, you may not want to flirt. And, you may not want to feel pressured to do things you don't want to do.

Flirting sometimes ends up creating confusion in friendships where there is some attraction. However, no matter how sure you are that their flirting is all in good fun, you might have some deep concerns.

The innuendo-free banter around platonic friends can help you stay out of trouble. However, you may want to discuss your friend's persistent flirting with them if you'd prefer they stop.

Keep the lines of friendship clear

While you may want to have a platonic relationship with someone, you also want to keep the lines of friendship clear. Therefore, you should always be clear about what you are comfortable doing in your platonic relationship.

A platonic relationship can be an excellent way to learn about yourself, your friends, and your partner. It can also be a great way to enjoy each other's company without dealing with the complexities of sex or romantic love. In platonic relationships, there is no expectation that you will go on a date or spend a lot of time together.

Talk with your friend and discuss precisely what you want out of the relationship. Then, before you flirt or do other things, ask yourself if you would feel comfortable if you were on the receiving end. 

Potential Challenges

Most relationships have their ups and downs. Sometimes even a platonic friendship can face challenges. Mindfulness helps you to better deal with these challenges. As a result, your friendship will develop faster, and you'll avoid some pitfalls while strengthening your relationship.

Avoid getting too comfortable around each other

One of the biggest challenges with platonic relationships is becoming too comfortable around each other. Unfortunately, you can quickly become too comfortable with your friend and develop unhealthy habits.

You can ask other friends about their opinion of your relationship and if they see you becoming too comfortable.

If you start to feel like you're getting too comfortable and it's making you feel vulnerable or awkward, open communication between you both and addressing all the things that worry you are the best approach.

Keep it honest

One of the biggest challenges that come with platonic relationships is honesty. You want to be honest with your friends about your feelings, and you want to be honest with yourself about what you want from your platonic relationship.

Make sure that you are honest about what you want from your platonic relationship. If you are not sure, you should ask your friend what they want.

Talking is an excellent opportunity, to be honest with your friend about what you want from the relationship.

If you want to keep the lines of friendship clear, you need to be honest with your friend about what you want from the relationship.

Don't skimp on communication

Another challenge that comes with platonic relationships is communication. You want to be honest with your friend about your feelings and what you want from the relationship.

You should be clear about what you want from your platonic relationship. You may want to have a clear discussion with your friend about what you want from the relationship.

You should also make sure that you communicate clearly about what you don't want.