Winter break is approaching, and while some students can’t wait to go home, others may feel a sense of apprehension. Whether it be the apprehension of leaving a significant other or seeing them for the first time in months, long distance relationships seem to affect many college students and can undoubtedly be stressful.

According to Cindy Hazan, a psychology professor at Cornell University who specializes in emotional bonds between adults, undergraduate breakups have a tendency to peak during September, December and May, or when students are returning home or going back to school.

“Distance is a risk factor for breakups and is very hard to maintain,” Hazan said. “But long distance relationships can be successful if the couple has already established a foundation.”

As long as the couple has had time to function in normal circumstances, they should be able to function during abnormal ones. To avoid conflict, Hazan suggests setting firm boundaries.

“It’s a negotiation, or almost unwritten contract of what you are allowed and not allowed to do with other people and how much contact you are going to have,” Hazan explained. “If it’s not explicit, it’s not unusual to be differences in what each person is assuming.”

As long as each knows what to expect, it will prevent these factors from becoming an issue. Puja Kenia, a sophomore economics major, had been dating her boyfriend for a year and a half before they decided to become long distance.

“A lot of [what was acceptable] was simply understood between us,” she said. “But when I came home from a night out, we would tell each other what we had done that night and decided what was acceptable or not as the situations came up.”

Long distance relationships have the potential to make the college experience more beneficial by providing a base of security. Much like a “normal relationship,” it can provide a feeling of confidence that one would not otherwise have, according to Hazan.

“When it can become problematic is if you’re in a new environment, exploring new relationships and using the old relationship as security,” Hazan said.

Recent technology has made long distance relationships much easier compared to the past. Texting, instant messaging and video chatting can serve as conducive ways to help keep things feeling normal.

“One of the ways you maintain closeness and intimacy is having frequent contact. In fact, what you have in a typical relationship is daily contact,” said Hazan. “Now, as opposed to 10 years ago, it is much easier to maintain daily contact with your significant other.”

Marissa Mayer, a sophomore psychology major, said she started dating her current boyfriend during her senior year of high school.

“We try to video chat whenever possible. It helps us maintain normalcy and is much better than talking on the phone,” Mayer said.

When you and your significant other do come into physical contact, it is common to expect everything to instantly go back to normal, however, according to Hazan, a lot of the times, this is not the case.

“One of the biggest complications for long distance couples is that when they do get together, it is typical for them to think that it is going to be blissful,” Hazan said. “But just like other couples, they will have issues they have to deal with.”

To combat this, Hazan suggested simply expecting this and trying not to over interpret it as something that means you shouldn’t be together. However, deciding to break up involves multiple factors and is no different than in a short distance relationship.