How Do You Know When to End a Toxic Relationship?
How Do You Know When to End a Toxic Relationship?
Many people don't leave toxic relationships because they don’t realize they’re in one in the first place. Some relationships are toxic from the beginning but you aren’t alarmed by the red flags because of the rose-tinted glasses you wore during the honeymoon period. Other relationships get worse over time.
Regardless of how the relationship started, if you’ve reached a tipping point and can take it no further, end a toxic relationship.
When You Feel Like Your Partner Doesn’t Respect You
Relationships are a two-way street. Your partner needs to meet you halfway. If you respect your partner’s boundaries but they don’t respect yours, that is incredibly toxic. It shows a lack of respect and it means that your partner doesn’t take you seriously at all.
A partner should want to make you feel comfortable and good. If they continuously and purposefully humiliate or disrespect you, you need to leave.
When Your Partner Controls Your Life
Toxic people often control the people around them. Some of the ways they can control you are:
Taking charge of your finances
Telling you what to wear
Making you feel bad about your hobbies
Not supporting your personal endeavors
Acting like your chaperone
Your partner is supposed to love you as you are. As long as you are not hurting yourself or others, they should not try to control you. If you find yourself having less freedom than before you were with your partner, it’s time to go.
When the Relationship Doesn’t Make You Happy
If you feel tired all the time and have exhausted your mental and emotional bandwidth, it could be because you’re in a toxic relationship. As mentioned previously, sometimes relationships sour over time. You may excuse your feelings as something unrelated to your relationship. However, if you meditate on it, you may find that your partner is the source of all your stress.
Yes, relationships go through rough patches. However, if you feel stressed every time you think of your partner, that’s not a good sign. Problems that never get resolved, poor communication, and getting emotional whiplash as your partner makes you happy and sad are signs of a toxic relationship.
When You Realize You Don’t Like Who You Are
A healthy relationship is one where you can grow as people. Unfortunately, not all relationships will change you for the better.
Think back on what you were like before the relationship. If you feel like you don’t like who you are when you’re with your partner, it’s a sign that the relationship isn’t helping you grow.
When It’s a Co-Dependent Relationship
Co-dependency is common in toxic relationships. Co-dependency means that one or both people in the relationship are excessively reliant on each other to the point where the couple engages in self-destructive behavior. It is emotionally and psychologically unhealthy to be in a co-dependent relationship. Some signs of a co-dependent relationship are:
You can’t make choices without your partner
You have trouble recognizing your own feelings
You change yourself to please your partner
You don’t establish boundaries
You feel like you can’t do anything without them
You lack self-esteem
You lack personal time
You get anxious when you’re apart
