Are you currently in a toxic relationship, or have you recently ended one? If so, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, most of us have found ourselves in toxic relationships at some point. Recognising the signs and taking action before it’s too late is essential.
Staying in a toxic relationship for too long can impact your emotional, mental, and physical well-being. It might affect your future relationships, too, even if the new spouse is healthy. We might bring past trauma into the present healthy relationship.
Let’s take a deep dive into how staying in a toxic relationship can affect you:
- Low self-esteem: Toxic partners often use manipulation and gaslighting to make you doubt yourself and your worth. Over time, this can lead to low self-esteem and a lack of confidence. Insecurities can be a slippery slope in future relationships, leading to paranoia and you transferring your negative thoughts to your prospective partner.
- Anxiety and depression: Constant criticism, belittling, and emotional abuse can affect mental health. If you realise your relationship constantly puts you in a dark place, it might be time to walk away.
- Isolation: Toxic partners often try to isolate their partners from friends and family. This can make it difficult to seek support. Keep your support system. Note there is a difference between having a support system and friends and including people as active participants in your relationship. No one should have a say in your relationship outside your partner and God. But usually, a partner that has problems with you having friendships is a partner that doesn’t want you to have anywhere to go when they ill-treat you. Someone who means you well wants you to have healthy platonic relationships outside of them.
- Physical health problems: Stress and anxiety from a toxic relationship can manifest in physical symptoms, such as headaches, fatigue, and digestive issues. Remember, stress can manifest itself in many ways.
- Difficulty trusting: It can be difficult to trust others and form healthy relationships in the future after being in a toxic relationship.
Walking away from a toxic relationship can be difficult; you are with this person because you loved them. But it’s better to leave with your sanity than to stay in grief. You deserve to be happy, healthy and loved.
Take care of yourself, and remember that you are strong! XOXO
Sidenote: I apologise for my website being down for the past couple of months, but I have been keeping up with my podcast on Spotify and all major podcast hosting platforms – Beyond Skin Deep with Jody-Anne Vanessa. Subscribe.
If you liked this post, you would love this Podcast Episode: Toxic Relationships, Unlearning and Forgiveness.