All of us desire to connect with a special person. How can the heavenly feeling of falling in love change to a feeling like a hell? Everything just seems to work in a healthy relationship. Healthy relationships require effort and compromise from both partners and involve open communication, honesty, trust, and respect between spouses. But when and why does the feeling of love long lost surface?
If your spouse habitually behaves in disrespectful, dishonest, dominating, or unsupportive behaviours, your relationship may ultimately be toxic.
Toxic relationship explained
A Toxic relationship is one in which the partners do not support one another, where there is conflict and one partner actively seeks to hurt the other, where there is disrespect and competitiveness, and where there is a lack of cohesiveness. All these lead to the couple drifting further apart.
Toxic relationship red flags are not always apparent. Physical abuse and cheating may be obvious warning flags, but there are also more subtle ones that most individuals in these relationships tend to ignore.
Effects of Toxic Relationships on your self
The effects of a toxic relationship can be disastrous if they last for an extended period of time. They are harmful to both physical and mental health. It might seem as if you are incapable of doing anything right when you are in a toxic relationship.
When you are continually criticized, you begin to think you are unworthy. You experience self-disgust. Despite your unease and discomfort, you lack the courage and motivation to end a relationship that you know isn’t healthy for you.
The majority of individuals are unaware that they are in a toxic relationship. Even after realizing this, they continue to be in the relationship in the hopes that the other person will permanently change their behaviour.
Signs of a Toxic Relationship.
It may not always be simple for you to recognize the warning signs that a relationship is toxic when they begin to appear. Yet, some of these symptoms may be present in you, your spouse, or the relationship itself.
1. Constantly Unhappy or Stress
Are you unhappy with the partner in your life all the time? If you are constantly unhappy and withdrawn, it may be time to seriously consider if you want to spend the rest of your life with this partner. Your relationship may become stressful as a result of everyday problems like a family member’s illness or a job loss.
Yet, being miserable all the time, even when you’re not under stress, is an indication of a toxic relationship. Your physical and emotional health may be impacted by this ongoing stress.
2. Controlling Behaviour
Your partner makes decisions for you, such as what to wear or with whom to meet. They keep tabs on you all the time or threaten to hurt you or themselves to get what they want from you. May even exert pressure on you.
Your spouse pressures you to engage in activities such as sex or drug and alcohol use that you do not want to do or are not prepared for. They use threats and won’t accept “no” as an answer.
3. They Abuse You
Abusing a partner in any form, whether it be physically, or emotionally, is never acceptable. The use of emotions to manipulate, humiliate, shame, or otherwise control another person is known as emotional abuse. When you are exposed to emotional abuse, you could start to doubt yourself.
Physical abuse refers to the use of force physically against another person that harms or hurts them. Physical abuse in a relationship frequently begins gradually, like a push or a slap, and then worsens over time. This is a sign or indication of an unhealthy relationship.
4. Blame Game
It’s an indication of a toxic relationship if your partner consistently puts the blame on you and won’t accept responsibility for what they do.
5. Lack of Care
A strong connection is demonstrated when one spouse looks out for the other. When a relationship is toxic, the partner will not offer support.
They won’t show you any affection, sympathy, or support. Just let their partner go through the difficult period on their own. Also, Lack of care was noted in responses to taking advantage of a partner, taking a partner for granted, and manipulating for own benefit.
6. Excessive jealousy
It’s a normal human feeling to be jealous. Yet, one of the signs of a toxic relationship is excessive jealousy. It may result from several factors, including a partner’s intimate activity with a 3rd person, being emotionally or sexually connected with someone else, etc.
7. Disrespect
An essential element of a strong relationship is respect. When there is obvious contempt for one partner or between both partners in a relationship, such as hate or the belief that the other is beneath them, that is when disrespect arises. Infidelity and verbal or physical abuse are among these problems.
You are your responsibility first.
We might all be difficult at times, but there is a line between having flaws and being toxic to someone. If you have people in your life who behave in this way, keep in mind that it is not your responsibility to attempt to change or save them as, in the end, it is their decision.
All you can do is take the best possible care of yourself and your mental health. You owe it to yourself to let go of the toxic people in your life and to care enough about yourself to dedicate your time and energy to the things that bring you joy.
Be happily single rather than in a Toxic Relationship!
