Healthy individuals need each other but not in the same respect as unhealthy ones. Healthy individuals experience need in the sense that they would rather have a healthy relationship than have none at all. But they do not fall into the trap of accepting any relationship as better than none at all. Healthy individuals know what qualities and characteristics they want in a romantic partner and consciously evaluate the extent to which the partner fits the bill. They are not rigid; they know that all individuals grow and change over time. Yet they also know that certain core values—honesty, commitment, trustworthiness, integrity, and so forth—are necessary over time. They can imagine worse conditions than being single, such as attempting a long-term romantic relationship without mutual trust and respect.