No man is an island. We live in a world where we have relationships with our friends, romantic partners, and family members. Sometimes, we engage in unhealthy relationships with these people, costing our mental health, our self-worth, and even our general well-being. It becomes vital that we watch out for any trace of toxicity in our relationship and either fix it or leave such a toxic relationship for the good of our mental peace and self-worth.
Some people capitalize domestic violence as the only sign of one being in a toxic relationship, but it's far from it. Yes, abuse is the chief of it all, but there are numerous characters that people in relationships exhibit that are very toxic and affect our mental health. Take, for instance, a disrespectful partner. It can be the man or the woman who doesn't respect the other partner in any way, no atom of regard. He or she uses hurtful words and sees nothing in them. That's very toxic, and the partner on the receiving side will have lots of emotional trauma to deal with.
I met a husband recently who confided in me how disrespectful the wife has been to him. How most of the words she tells him during a little argument make him really think of leaving the marriage in order to have his sanity, that's because of the toxicity of the relationship..
If you are also in a relationship where your voice doesn't matter, then consider it a toxic relationship. A relationship should be one of mutual respect and understanding. Everyone should have the equal opportunity to deliberate on issues and air their opinions. But in a toxic relationship, you see one partner being the head and the tail. Kind of an autocratic relationship, lolz. Whatever he or she says stands, whether it affects the other person or not. Either you accept the decision or hit your head on the pole. Like seriously, we hear of these stories; it happens, and it's simply toxic.
I have a friend whose husband cut her off from her family and friends all in the name of relationship. The man changed her SIM card and bought her a new network. This friend can only secretly call her friends and family when the husband is not around. According to the man, he doesn't want any third party in his marriage, but sadly, he did that so that in all his maltreatment of the wife, she will have no one to run to. And I begin to ask, Why see red signals in a relationship and still stay? Obviously, her mental health was deteriorating. She lost peace, social life, and all you can think of because of the relationship. How toxic this can be.
There are lots of characters I consider toxic in a relationship, and it makes sense to discover them prior to marriage and flee before getting yourself entangled with such a partner. If I am in a relationship with you and you don't support my vision in life but rather force me to dance to your tune, it's already toxic, and I wouldn't allow such a man to limit me in life. It's not only when you hit me that I consider our relationship toxic; if we can't have quality communication, it's already toxic and unhealthy.
If you manipulate my choice, it's also toxic and will affect me emotionally. If you make me think less of myself, Mr. Man, it's toxic and a time to revisit my decision with you. Life has no spare, and the short time I have to live in this world is meant to be enjoyed and not endured.
This post was inspired by the #inleo community and my entry to the #octoberinleo monthly topic Day 24 .Please check out the prompt to get involved.