Long distance relationship.. is it really that difficult?

When people hear the phrase "long distance relationship", we will often say, is it going to work? The thought we always have in mind is the struggle that will be encountered when you allow yourself to love someone far away from you. Others describe it as a challenge that two people will experience in the entire relationship. Not everyone of us though believe on that, even I myself. I have seen and knew so many lovers who are separated by distance but not in heart who are successful in terms of having LDR. Well, many people choose to give a long distance relationship a try, without knowing the consequences or the essence of it out of curiousity. 
For me, LDR works just like a normal relationship. Two people sharing each others interest, love and care for each other the most thinking that everything will work fine and the love will continue to grow. The disadvantage though is that you are far from each other. Not to mention when you want to have intimate moments with your partner whenever you desire, and most importantly, the trust required. What makes it harder, is when you want to show him or her your love and care and being able to spend time together physically. But if you will really look into it deeper, then you'll realize that it will not put the relationship into doom. Just like my friends who engage into long distance relationship. I can see that they are fighting hard to kill the loneliness they are feeling. Emotions are so intense, they cried most of the time because they could not hug nor kiss the person when they want to, letting them feel that they love them or care for them the most. 
I salute those people who keep their faithfulness and loyalty to the person they love even how far they are from each other. Trust indeed is highly recommended when it comes to LDR, without it, everything will fall badly. I'm hoping and praying that my friends who have this kind of relationship will be happy at all times though they are separated with their partners by distance.