When you hear the word ‘intimate’, what are the first images that come to your mind? For a lot of people, it would be fair to assume that the first thing that pops in to your head is sex. Yes, of course, sex is definitely about the most intimate thing that you can do with someone else, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be the be all and end all of closeness. Here are seven other ways to be intimate without having sex.
Don’t underestimate the power of hand holding. It can make you feel safe, it can make you feel loved, it can make you feel like the only person that matters in the world. The great thing about holding hands is that it is the kind of intimacy you can display both in private and in public.
There is nothing more intimate than really getting to know someone through detailed and meaningful conversation. It can often feel more intimate to know about a person’s childhood than to have seen them naked!
Not all touching has to transfer into something sexual. There is hugging, there is massaging of things like hands and feet. These things can make you feel good and close in ways that don’t necessarily relate to sexual pleasure.
Introducing a partner to one of your most passionate interests or hobbies can feel very intimate and vulnerable. It is almost like you are giving a little secret part of yourself over to someone, asking them to join you in something that makes you truly happy.
If you are both people who enjoy spirituality or have any kind of faith, then sharing in those feelings and beliefs can be a very intimate thing. To share your values with someone is one of the most intimate things that can occur in a relationship.
Even if you see each other every single day, it can be intimate and fun to write letters to one another. Sometimes the things you want to say the most are easiest when written down rather than spoken, so writing letters can open up new levels of intimacy for you.
Have a go at staring longingly in to one another’s eyes when you are sitting on the couch. The goal isn’t to then touch the person, but rather to see how close and intimate you can make something just by engaging in eye contact.