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Love, romance, relationships and more, from NPR's Life Kit Love — both toward others and ourselves — takes a lot of work. Life Kit is here with advice on everything from dating apps and relationship contracts to calling it quits.
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What's your attachment style? Take this quiz to find out
Connie Hanzhang Jin/NPR

Life Kit

What's your attachment style? Take this quiz to find out

According to the field of attachment theory, each person has a unique attachment style that informs how that person relates to intimacy: secure, anxious or avoidant. We talk with Amir Levine, a neuroscientist and co-author of the book Attached, about how your attachment style can impact your relationships.

What's your attachment style? Take this quiz to find out

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4 tips to stay connected when your friends live far away

The best long distance friends are the ones who know how to communicate well. That looks different for everyone, so discuss which channels feel best for you and your friend. Sol Cotti for NPR hide caption

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Sol Cotti for NPR

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4 tips to stay connected when your friends live far away

Long distance friendships are a common reality of adulthood, as we move around for school, work or family. While they might require some planning and creativity to keep up, there's no reason to let physical distance keep you from staying connected.

4 tips to stay connected when your friends live far away

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COMIC: How to be single
LA Johnson/NPR

Life Kit

COMIC: How to be single

In a world that wants everyone partnered up, this comic by Meghan Keane and LA Johnson offers tips from the experts on how to find peace with singleness and live a full life on your own terms.

COMIC: How to be single

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How to turn your breakup into a new beginning
Photo illustration by Becky Harlan/NPR

Life Kit

How to turn your breakup into a new beginning

Breakups come in all shapes and sizes — slow dissolves, out-of-nowhere endings — and maybe you even initiated the breakup. But they all have a few things in common. Mainly, they can hurt. These six tips can help you move forward after a breakup.

How to turn your breakup into a new beginning

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From housework to sex, here's how relationship contracts can help couples

A relationship contract is a tool for couples to express their needs and work together to craft the parameters of their own unique relationship roadmap. Marie Bertrand/Getty Images hide caption

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Marie Bertrand/Getty Images

Life Kit

From housework to sex, here's how relationship contracts can help couples

Relationship contracts might not sound romantic, but all relationships are contractual. Writer Mandy Len Catron says this is a tool for couples to express their needs and work together.

From housework to sex, here's how relationship contracts can help couples

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What makes a good partner — and how to cultivate connection
Sara Ariel Wong for NPR

Life Kit

What makes a good partner — and how to cultivate connection

You might remember Mandy Len Catron from her hit Modern Love essay about going through 36 questions to fall in love. You might have even tried those questions yourself. Catron's book is called How to Fall in Love With Anyone, and Vice's Rachel Wilkerson Miller spoke with her about it.

What makes a good partner — and how to cultivate connection

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An illustrated guide to showing up for yourself
Clare Schneider/NPR

Life Kit

An illustrated guide to showing up for yourself

You can't fully show up for the people in your life until you know how to do the same for yourself. In this episode, we talk with Rachel Wilkerson Miller, author of The Art of Showing Up, about how to take care of yourself.

An illustrated guide to showing up for yourself

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3 ways to turn around your dating luck, according to a behavioral scientist
Lucinda Schreiber for NPR

Life Kit

3 ways to turn around your dating luck, according to a behavioral scientist

Logan Ury, a behavioral scientist at the dating app Hinge, says making dating decisions based on initial chemistry alone is a losing battle. In this episode, dating coach Damona Hoffman speaks with Ury about her new book, How to Not Die Alone.

3 ways to turn around your dating luck, according to a behavioral scientist

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Long-distance relationships are tough. Here's advice for making them work
Joan Alturo for NPR

Life Kit

Long-distance relationships are tough. Here's advice for making them work

Maybe you're trying to make it work with a partner in another state. Or maybe your best friend lives across the country. Long–distance relationships are tough, whether they're romantic or not. In this episode, a marriage and family therapist offers advice.

Long-distance relationships are tough. Here's advice for making them work

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How to be a supportive friend
Clare Schneider/NPR

Life Kit

How to be a supportive friend

When we see a friend going through a rough patch, it can be hard to know how to help. What do you say? What if you say the wrong thing? In the second part of our conversation with author Rachel Wilkerson Miller, we talk about how to support your friends when things get tough.

How to be a supportive friend

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If you want to get closer to your partner, start talking about money
Annelise Capossela for NPR

Life Kit

If you want to get closer to your partner, start talking about money

Talking about money can feel intimidating, even taboo. But it's also the key to fostering a closer connection with your partner. In this episode, financial therapist Amanda Clayman breaks down five crucial elements to a healthy financial relationship with your significant other.

If you want to get closer to your partner, start talking about money

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Touch & pleasure are essential: Here's how to give them to yourself
Becky Harlan/NPR

Life Kit

Touch & pleasure are essential: Here's how to give them to yourself

Human touch is essential. But in a socially distanced world, lots of people are starved for it. Figuring out what feels good to you, from a long hot bath to something more intimate, can be the first step to getting that much-needed touch. (Yes, this episode includes discussions of sex and sexuality.)

Touch & pleasure are essential: Here's how to give them to yourself

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How understanding jealousy could lead to a better relationship
Jennifer Qian for NPR

How understanding jealousy could lead to a better relationship

Jealousy isn't all bad. When cultivated correctly, it can also be an opportunity to "deepen our awareness of what we want, who we care about and who we are," says research psychologist Joli Hamilton.

How understanding jealousy could lead to a better relationship

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Dating over 50: It's OK to be nervous, but don't let that stop you
Jeannie Phan for NPR

Life Kit

Dating over 50: It's OK to be nervous, but don't let that stop you

Contemplating dating when you're 50 or older can feel daunting. But to find love, you usually have to date.

Dating over 50: It's OK to be nervous, but don't let that stop you

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Looking for love at first swipe? Here's how to make dating apps work for you
Hanna Barczyk for NPR

Life Kit

Looking for love at first swipe? Here's how to make dating apps work for you

The idea behind dating apps is to make finding a connection easier — but that's not always the case. These expert tips will help you make the experience less anxiety-inducing, whether you're looking for something long-term or casual.

Looking for love at first swipe? Here's how to make dating apps work for you

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Can I date that co-worker? What to consider before an office romance
Becky Harlan and CJ Riculan/NPR

Life Kit

Can I date that co-worker? What to consider before an office romance

The workplace still ranks as one of the top five places where people meet their mates. Love is intoxicating, but you don't want a workplace romance to become toxic.

Can I date that co-worker? What to consider before an office romance

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The art of breaking up, from 'the talk' to moving on
LA Johnson/NPR

Life Kit

The art of breaking up, from 'the talk' to moving on

Breaking up is tough, no matter how sure you are in your decision. In this episode, certified dating coach Damona Hoffman walks us through the steps to go through in the process, and the small decisions that can make a big impact on how you'll come out on the other side.

The art of breaking up, from 'the talk' to moving on

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Love on lockdown: Tips for dating during the coronavirus crisis
Lindsey Balbierz for NPR

Life Kit

Love on lockdown: Tips for dating during the coronavirus crisis

Lots of people want to find love, but the pandemic makes doing so more complicated. In this special episode, Sam Sanders of NPR's It's Been a Minute sheds some light on dating and relationships during the coronavirus pandemic.

Love on lockdown: Tips for dating during the coronavirus crisis

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A blurry photograph of a family walking and holding hands, as seen from a high angle. Two parents walk, holding the hands of their child who walks between them. The photo has a dreamy quality.
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Dear Life Kit: My wife wants to use the last of our savings for a 4th round of IVF

An NPR listener says they are ready to adopt a child and move on from in vitro fertilization. But their wife is focused on getting pregnant.

Dear Life Kit: I'm at my breaking point

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This illustration shows a series of stacked 3-D emojis. The emoji on top is a yellow happy face, and going down, it gets progressively sadder until it becomes a red, sad, angry face.
Yossakorn Kaewwannarat/Getty Images; NPR

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Dear Life Kit: I resent that my WFH partner has more free time than I do

A listener says she has trouble respecting her husband because of his work-from-home habits. While she works long hours, he gets to sign off early. Therapist Moraya Seeger DeGeare weighs in.

Dear Life Kit: I'm at my breaking point

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Illustration that shows two gold wedding bands intertwined. On the left two people embrace and kiss as they're encircled in one of the wedding bands, on the right a person looks on, seemingly in emotional agony as their partner engages in an affiar, breaking the circle of trust that they had established and the relationship contract they had agreed upon.

Can a relationship recover after a romantic affair? Psychologist and affair recovery specialist Talal Alsaleem weighs in on the topic. Adrián Astorgano for NPR hide caption

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Adrián Astorgano for NPR

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Once a cheater, always a cheater? Busting 3 common myths about infidelity

Clinical psychologist Talal Alsaleem has helped hundreds of couples work through romantic affairs. He shares common misconceptions about cheating -- and how to cope.

What happens after someone cheats

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An eight-part grid displays images representing common chores in households that have babies, including diapering, research, grocery shopping, meal planning, bed time, bottle feeding, dishes, clothes shopping, laundry, doctor's appointments, sick care and managing the bills and mail. Each of the items has a sticky note on it that reads either "me" or "you," which represents the intentional division of household labor among partners.

Dividing household labor with a partner after welcoming home a baby takes intention, communication and revision. Photo illustration by Becky Harlan/NPR hide caption

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Photo illustration by Becky Harlan/NPR

Life Kit

Caring for a newborn is a team sport. Here's how to share the load

Before the baby comes along, expecting parents should have a conversation about how they will divide the household labor — and any anticipated child care needs.

How to babyproof your relationship

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