Platonic Love
Though often equated with friendship, platonic relationships expand beyond friendship and encapsulate a deep bond without sexual and romantic aspects. Platonic love refers to the intense emotional connection that develops in platonic relationships. Platonic relationships include friendships, community members, family, coworkers and classmates, roommates, and many others. Familial love is a specific type of platonic love.
Friendship vs. Platonic Love
Both friendship and platonic relationships tend to have emotional connections. However, when people experience platonic love, they also experience deeper and more intense emotional bonds with one another. Platonic relationships also tend to be based on mutual trust and shared interests, whereas friendships tend to be based on mutual respect and support. Friendships can become platonic relationships and develop platonic love.
Benefits of Platonic Love
There are many benefits to platonic love. These include:
- Emotional support
- Community
- Better moods
- Decreased risk of health problems
- Decreased feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression
- Increased resilience
- Thought-provoking and engaging conversations
What to Watch Out For?
Like romantic relationships, there are things we need to watch out for and learn to navigate in platonic relationships. These include:
- Jealousy and betrayal
- Anxious Attachment
- Avoidant Attachment
- Ghosting
- Unhealthy boundaries
- Poor communication
- Bidding
- Conflict
It’s important to remember that relationship problems affect all relationships.
How to Build Platonic Relationships
Building platonic relationships can be difficult, but it does not have to be. Here are some tips:
- Surround yourself with people who share similar interests.
- Show initiative in making connections, like asking someone to hang out.
- Allow yourself to be vulnerable with others, and allow others to be vulnerable with you.
- Get curious about the interests of others.
- Make kind gestures that show you care about those special individuals in your life.
- Celebrate special milestones.
Platonic Breakups
Platonic breakups are the less talked about breakups, and while we often don’t think about them, platonic relationships do end. Many people share that they find it more difficult to overcome platonic breakups than romantic or sexual ones. Going through these breakups can be very difficult, confusing, and isolating. It’s important to surround yourself with people you love.
Platonic Date Ideas
Some ideas to do with your platonic relationships include:
- Having picnics
- Going to museums
- Taking an art class
- Attending a concert
- Taking cooking classes
- Having game nights
- Going thrifting
- Going to a bookstore
- Going on a nice dinner
- Volunteering somewhere together
While our physical offices are located in South Loop and Lakeview neighborhoods in Chicago, Illinois for in-person sessions, we also welcome and serve clients for online therapy from anywhere in Illinois and Washington, D.C. Clients from the Chicagoland area may choose in-office or online therapy and usually commute from surrounding areas such as River North, West Loop, Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lake View, Rogers Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, Bridgeport, Little Village, Bronzeville, South Shore, Hyde Park, Back of the Yards, Wicker Park, Bucktown and many more.
This page is also part of the Roamers Therapy Glossary; a collection of mental-health related definitions that are written by our therapists.
While our offices are currently located at the South Loop neighborhood of Downtown Chicago, Illinois, we also welcome and serve clients for online therapy from anywhere in Illinois and Washington, D.C. Clients from the Chicagoland area may choose in-office or online therapy and usually commute from surrounding areas such as River North, West Loop, Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lake View, Rogers Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, Bridgeport, Little Village, Bronzeville, South Shore, Hyde Park, Back of the Yards, Wicker Park, Bucktown and many more. You can visit our contact page to access detailed information on our office location.