One minute you’re getting on really well and everything’s going great.  The next minute (or so it seems) s/he is totally ignoring you or you find you’ve been ditched.  Why?  There are many reasons someone may have for ending or avoiding a relationship.

Maybe you could try talking to them about it.  This might be difficult if you can’t actually find the time to spend with them alone but could be a start to working out how both of you are feeling, and why.

It’s important to remember that any relationship should be healthy…
for both of you.  Things that are important in a relationship are:

• Trust
• Honesty - this can be a difficult one if the questions are about hair and clothes!  However, there are some fundamental things that you should never lie to each other about – how you feel about each other and whether you want to have sex or not are just two of them
• Being positive towards each other – compliments are great but they need to be meaningful
• Supporting each other when things are not going so well & trying to find solutions together
• Celebrating each other’s successes
• Respecting each other’s opinions.  You should always listen to what others have to say, but you don’t have to agree with it.

These things don’t have to just be about your relationship with whoever you are dating.  They’re also really important aspects of the relationships you have with your friends, brothers, sisters, parents, teachers, youth workers, nurses…

There’s also nothing wrong with being single, just as, when the time and person are right, there’s nothing wrong with being in a relationship.  You should never judge yourself by your relationship and if you’re desperate to have a boy/girlfriend you need to work out why.  A date is not the answer to all of life’s problems.

Friends, whatever sex they are, are at least as important as a boy or girl/friend so if you’re dating don’t forget your mates.  Boy/girlfriends may come and go but good friends, if you work at it a little bit, can be there for life!