A psychologist once wrote that a mature romance worthy of true love must go through four stages: coexistence, anti-dependence, independence, and symbiosis. The time required for the transition between these stages is not fixed and varies from person to person.
The first stage: Coexistence.
This is the passionate love period when you always want to be together no matter when or where.
The second stage: Anti-dependence.
When the relationship stabilizes, one party wants more time to do what they want, and at this time, the other party may feel neglected.
The third stage: Independence.
This is a continuation of the second stage, demanding more independent and autonomous time.
The fourth stage: Symbiosis.
At this point, a new way of getting along takes shape, and you have become the closest people. Together, you support each other and create a life that belongs to both of you. You won't hold each other back but will grow together. He/She is like family to you.
However, many people can't get past the second or third stage and choose to part ways. In fact, many issues could be resolved with good communication, but overthinking and impulsiveness are hard to avoid. How rare it is to meet the one and only person in the world. Can we refrain from giving up easily?
Have you noticed? You originally had nothing in common, didn't look alike on the surface, and your personalities were completely different. But after falling in love and being together, day by day, year by year, you'll be surprised to find that your eyes start to resemble his/hers. His/Her smile starts to resemble yours. Your walking pace becomes similar. Your tone of voice also becomes increasingly alike. You both love drinking from the same cup. Your catchphrases become the same. You can almost always guess what the other person's next sentence will be. It turns out that we gradually become the person we love.
Unconsciously, you've helped him/her break the bad habit of frowning, a change that even he/she might not have noticed. Unbeknownst to you, he/she has made you less careless in doing things. You can hardly recognize yourself anymore. You gradually become the ideal person in the other's mind without realizing it. This transformation is absolutely not deliberate, like whitening injections. The longer two people spend together, the more similar their demeanor becomes. One day, you'll be amazed to discover how in sync you both are. Perhaps you'll never encounter such a deep bond again. When you deeply love someone, you really do lose a bit of yourself bit by bit.