How do you know if your relationship is becoming toxic? What are the signs that your relationship has turned toxic? This article will explore in detail the signs that your relationship has turned toxic and how to watch for early signs of a toxic relationship.
Almost every toxic love story begins with passion and the promise of a bright future. But somewhere along the path to “happily ever after,” things go sideways. Deep feelings of disappointment, betrayal, and confusion begin to surface with alarming frequency.
The perfect, reliable lover becomes a manipulative anchor that weighs you down. Many men and women struggle to recognize the early signs of a toxic relationship. In these cases, the early signs of trouble appear, but instead of raising red flags, these concerns are brushed off as the usual “bumps in the road” that occur in every new relationship. This confusion can be greatly reduced if you understand what to look for as a warning sign that a relationship could become toxic. Listed below are eight traits that appear most frequently in toxic relationships. The more elements that apply to your or your partner’s relationship, the more likely your relationship will be headed for heartache.
Related:
- You experience recurring conflict that feels personal and involves demeaning interactions (such as attacks on characters and intentionally hurtful comments).
- Your partner demonstrates a lack of support for your core values or goals and minimizes the things that matter to you. (For example, if you miss a big promotion and feel sad the following weekend, the toxic partner might say, “So what? You didn’t get the promotion. It’s been two days already. Are you just going to ruin your weekend because of a small setback?”).
- One or both people in the relationship often make fun of or ridicule the other.
- You often daydream or fantasize about ending a relationship or being with someone else.
- You start to dread spending time with your partner.
- In private, your partner interacts with you in ways that you find annoying and would be too embarrassed to reveal to your best friend.
- Your partner often uses guilt to get their way.
- Your partner insists on monopolizing all of your free time.
How in the world do I exclude bad romantic partners If you check off a number of the above items, you might be wondering “How in the world did I get myself into this mess?” Well, you are not alone. Most everyone was there. Fortunately, there are some easily recognizable “red flags” to look for in your love interest’s personality and personality that can help you avoid making a bad decision.
- Narcissism When the other person has strong narcissistic tendencies, you need to proceed with caution. Narcissism often manifests in selfishness, self-aggrandizement, and easily hurt feelings.
- Dishonesty Meaningful, long-term relationships require trust. The foundation of trust is built on honesty. At the initial stage of a romantic relationship, some men and women tend to ignore the initial manifestations of deception, viewing them as mere minor offenses. Or that the lie is shown to another person and not to him. Such reasoning is naive and leads to heartache. Related: 6 early red flags of a toxic relationship
- Chronic Jealousy If your love interest is often jealous, you can be pretty sure that he suffers from a severe case of insecurities.
Such a person expects betrayal and will become more and more suspicious over time. Endless arguments, defensiveness, waning intimacy, and deep resentment are bound to follow.
- Extremely Selfish Healthy relationships require give and take. The intensely selfish individual is all about taking, not giving. Especially if giving requires a personal sacrifice of time or energy or giving up some pleasure. Deep-rooted selfishness will lead to a lack of empathy—towards others in general, and toward yourself more frequently. Unless you enjoy being treated like an emotional ATM, avoid the selfish man or woman. What’s to stop you from seeing red flags before it’s too late Many people find themselves mired in a relationship with a toxic partner—or worse, a chronic pattern of toxic relationships—and wonder how they got there. How could they have missed the early, obvious signs that the person they were attracted to was highly toxic? It’s an easy mistake to make, in the early stages of romance, when the faint glow of attraction is too much to judge oneself better. Warning signs are overlooked or ignored.
One reason for this is that intense romantic attraction leads to diminished activity in the amygdala, the brain’s sentinel center or early warning detection system. This small region of your brain is tasked with identifying threats to your well-being.
