The Three Stages of Relationships
There are 3 stages of relating, according to David Deida an international teacher and author, dependence, 50/50, or intimate communion. In his book Intimate Communion, he defines these stages according to the polarity differences between men and women and what most attracts them. Dependent Relationships In a Dependent Relationship what you may notice is that the couple often represents the extremes of what is considered masculine and feminine. He may look very macho and his energy will be very masculine in a more stereotypic way. She may depict the extreme of what is considered feminine in a woman. Some images that come to mind are where the man throws the woman on the bed and takes her almost forcefully and she surrenders to his dominance. Partners may confuse some version of a master/slave relationship with real love. She is the more passive of the two and often desires to feel vanquished. She might also desire to be seen as his property or his woman and her man.