Dating Tips | 10 Signs That Your Love Life Has Turned Toxic

Read these dating tips and check the possible red flags in your love life.

The only constant thing in the world is change, goes the worn-out adage. However, this does not only prove correct in physics and biology but also in human relationships. What once was a picture of a loving relationship could easily become a stressful and taxing endeavor. But fights and disagreements are common, so how do you know when your love life has become toxic?

A toxic relationship affects a person’s sense of worth and happiness, and how they see themselves and the world around them. It is also important to clarify that just because you’re stuck in a toxic relationship doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a weak, insecure and toxic person yourself. Sometimes, people do get trapped in the illusion of a happy and healthy love that wears out over time.

In this list, we provide you with early dating tips to look out for (before things get too complicated, messy and even costly to resolve). Here are 10 red flags that are indicative of a toxic relationship.

1. There is abuse in the relationship. Abuse may happen through various forms — verbal, physical or psychological — and it doesn’t have to reach extreme cases for your partner’s actions to be considered bad and unlawful. Actually, instances of abuse should be the first and most important red flag in all of the dating tips available. And mind you, abuse goes both ways. It could affect men and women all the same.
2. It feels bad and wrong. We love love. It’s a unique kind of high you wouldn’t want to come down from, and it should make you feel happy and allow you to grow. But when it has become toxic, the butterflies you once felt become wasps stinging you from the inside out. Where has the love gone? Away — the same thing you should be doing now.
3. You don’t get to have a say on anything. Because you believe there is no point in raising your voice. You are made to believe that you have no say in the relationship or that there is no weight to anything you say. Yet you know that all of these are wrong.
4. You are always waiting for the “gotcha” moment. A toxic relationship has made you uneasy and always on edge, in fear of doing anything considered bad by your partner. Constant anxiety has become your friend.
5. It’s a one-sided affair. There is no compromise, no meeting halfway with the two of you. All the love, work, and understanding come from you, and it’s draining you out. It’s obviously unbalanced and unhealthy.
6. You’re not allowed to say “no.” You are forced to agree on everything your partner says or does even if they no longer align with what you think is right. You feel like your partner’s authority over you trumps everything, even your moral compass.
7. Your partner is passive-aggressive. Even if they don’t raise their hand at you or even when they allow you to do things you enjoy, they employ guilt-tripping in subtle ways. Watch out for every microaggression — they will build up over time.
8. The relationship plays the pain Olympics. Your partner addresses your pain and issues by comparing it with what they are feeling, one-upping yours and making your concerns insignificant. They always want to have the last say on these kinds of things.
9. You enjoy no privacy. For a toxic relationship, you are not considered an individual anymore. Being in the relationship requires you to surrender who you are, and accept it with no questions asked. You cannot even have locks on phones or anything, lest you are harboring secrets.
10. There is no resolution to anything. Since there is an imbalance in the relationship and there is no open and honest communication, every issue creeping up is left as they are. The days go by but your problems and issues just keep piling up with no end in sight.

At the core, you must learn when to say no more to the relationship and let go. Do not wait for this to confuse your mind and begin taking pity on the time you spent together. You have the power to move out and move on.

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