No relationship is perfect. Every relationship has its ups and downs, from the little fights to the occasional sleepover on the couch.
However, if you feel more negative about your relationship than positive, it may be time to re-evaluate your relationship and see if you are stuck in an unhealthy relationship that you need to get out of.
To help, here are nine signs of a toxic relationship that can severely impact your emotional, mental, and physical health.
Related: 8 Types Of Toxic Relationships To Cut Out Of Your Life Now
Here are 9 warning signs that you are in a toxic relationship:
- You don’t trust your partner
Trust is key to any respectable romantic relationship. When you choose to trust your partner, you give them your heart and put yourself in a very vulnerable position. You realize that there is a huge risk when trusting your partner, because if he breaks your heart it may never be repaired.
There is a great deal of respect in mutually trusting relationships where both partners open up to each other and let the other in. If you are having trust issues with your partner, there is likely questionable behavior in the relationship that needs to be evaluated.
- It makes you sad more than happy
This is a big one. Although you shouldn’t rely on your partner for all of your happiness (only you can control your perspective and decisions in life), your partner should make your life better, not worse.
If you dread your partner walking through the door every day, know that it may be time to take a break, try to work on things, or just stop working. Your partner may not be able to fulfill all your dreams, but he or she should love you, support you, and help you through difficult times.
- Your partner keeps score
If your partner keeps track of every mistake you make, he or she is likely trying to hide his behavior by storing all of your misdeeds in his back pocket every time he makes a mistake.
In addition, every time you try to bring up something serious or perhaps if you want to compromise with them about something, they will use your mistakes to their advantage as well.
They want to get out of everything and get their way, so they use your weaknesses for their gain.
This is not how healthy communication works and you may need to either seek counseling or break things off, otherwise you will remain stuck in a relationship built on poor communication.
Related: 5 Painful Signs Your Toxic Relationship Gave You PTSD
- They are keeping secrets from you
I’ll say this again: When you don’t trust your partner, your relationship will fail. Trust is everything!
When you have a lack of trust in your partner, you either have trust issues due to other life factors or you have a good reason to not trust them based on their behavior.
If you’re not sure, it might be wise to have a conversation with your partner and tell them how you feel and why. If they start acting suspicious, like they can’t look you in the eye, you may need to question their loyalty.
In this day and age, it’s very easy to tell if your partner is hiding things from you. One of the most common ways to know if your partner is cheating on you is to find out who he contacts most often. If you see a phone number that your partner calls often (or that your partner calls often), it may be wise to use a reverse cell phone lookup service on the phone number in question. To do this, check your significant other’s phone bill or call history to see who is calling them.
Some other ways to check if your partner is being unfaithful are to take a look at their website history, check their bank accounts for unusual purchases, and search popular dating apps like Tinder to see if they have a dating profile.
- Your partner is in control
A loving partner is not a controlling partner. You are your person, with your own needs and aspirations. If your partner tries to control you, know that it is time for your relationship.
If your partner cares too much about their happiness and cares little about what makes you happy, they are a narcissist and there is not much you can do to change this person. It’s time to move on and let someone else handle your controlling partner.
- You don’t help each other grow
The best partners challenge each other. They share their feelings maturely and speak their minds. They talk about each other’s faults. They grow together.
