5 Warning Signs You’re in a Toxic Relationship
Toxic relationships happen for a variety of reasons, especially when one partner wants to control the other partner in the relationship.
And guess what? This doesn’t have to be a romantic relationship.
Friendships, workplace acquaintances, and even family members can be toxic partners.
The signs of a toxic relationship sometimes can be confusing and hard to identify.
Let’s look at the 5 biggest signs that indicate you are in a toxic relationship.
1. You Never Feel Good Enough
You feel like nothing you ever do is quite right and are trying to prove your worth.
You become addicted to his validation.
No matter how hard you try, you never feel like you’re enough or doing things right.
You live in a constant state of unease, of trying to be better and good enough.
2. You Can’t Be Yourself
One sign that you’re in a healthy, loving relationship is the feeling that you can just be.
The other sign that you are in an unhealthy, toxic relationship is the opposite, the feeling that you can’t be yourself.
You feel like you need to think twice before you speak and that certain topics are off-limits, that you have to act a certain way.
You are afraid to bring things up to him because you don’t know how he’ll react, and saying nothing is better than saying something and having him get angry.
You start to suffer in silence and hope that somehow things will change, and the relationship will magically transform into a healthy, happy one.
3. He Puts You Down
This is one of the biggest signs of a toxic relationship, but often you don’t even realize all the ways he’s putting you down because it can be done in sneaky ways aren’t flat-out criticisms.
And if you’re in far enough, you already aren’t feeling like yourself and aren’t feeling good enough about yourself, so you may even agree with the negative things he says to you and about you.
Relationships are a chance for enormous personal growth.
Sometimes our less-than-stellar qualities are brought to the surface and they need to be dealt with.
However, there is a huge difference between a partner who can point out your flaws in a loving way, a way that encourages you to grow, and a partner who does it from a place of contempt.
In a healthy relationship, he will accept you for who you are.
4. You Fight Dirty
Couples fight, it just comes with the relationship territory.
Happy couples aren’t ones who never fight, they use fights and disagreements as a means to resolve the issue.
If something can’t be resolved, they learn how to communicate better and reach a place of deeper understanding.
Toxic couples usually fight to win.
They use fights as an opportunity to tear the other person down, to hit below the belt, to get out all the anger and resentment they feel.
5. He Won’t Work on It
He doesn’t take responsibility, blames you, and makes it all your fault.
In a toxic relationship, you feel like the problem.
He doesn’t value your feelings or your needs.
If you’re upset, it’s because you’re too sensitive or emotional.
He may say sorry, but he doesn’t own up to anything and thinks if you have a problem with the relationship then it’s just that, your problem.
He doesn’t want to talk about it or work on it or try to change.
The most important quality to look for in a partner is someone willing to work on it.
Even toxic relationships can be repaired if both people are committed to working on them.
Conclusion
If any of this rang true for you or sounded like your relationship, it might be time to consider if staying in this relationship is in your best interest.
Toxic relationships can be enormously damaging; either you’ll see it now or somewhere down the line.
The longer you stay, the worse the damage will be and the longer it can take to undo.
Remember, the sooner you free yourself, the closer you will be to finding the right relationship for you!