Baby, when you're gone...

Love isn���t something that happens with planning.
But once it happens, things can still go awry. Few things can be more difficult to handle than a long distance relationship. In today���s times when nearly everyone is so ambitious and career-conscious, it isn���t surprising that personal lives and relationships take a back seat. So what happens when one partner has to move to a different place? Can staying apart ruin a perfect relationship or does it work as a test to evaluate its strength?
Marriage counsellor and culture change consultant Dr Saul Pereira clarifies that for a relationship to sustain and grow, physical contact is very important.���After marriage, it is advised that a couple stay together for the first two years at least. This period gives them time to create camaraderie and compatibility. Once that connection is established, you can risk staying away for a while. But that too shouldn���t be for a long time because that would obviously lead to tension and conflicts in the relationship,��� Pereira says.
���I was happily settled in my relationship. Then came a time when we had to move away from each other,��� says Abhimanyu Kumar, an engineering student. ���My girlfriend couldn���t take the distance and loneliness. She found herself a new male friend. It was important for her to have someone who could take her out and with whom she could hang out. This led to a lot of confusion. In the end and we had to call it quits��� he recalls.
���Distance over a long spell is a curse on any relationship unless there is this special connection between two people, one that���s deep and profound that it can stand the test of time and distance,��� opines Dr Vikram Prabhu a consultant psychiatrist. But such a connection is very rare. ���Most couples in a long distance relationship suffer the immediate consequences of it. One of them being lack of trust in their partners,��� he says adding, ���It���s very important for partners to be physically present for each other as a physical connection is important for a healthy relationship.���
���The biggest problem in a long distance relationship is the distance,��� says Kanika, a journalist. ���No matter what your partner does for you or vice versa, there���s always a question mark as to where it���s all leading. A long distance relationship works only if both partners remain true to each other and make a consistent effort to show care and concern,��� she says.