Building a relationship and spending the rest of your life with a loved one is never easy. There should always be plenty of support from both parties in any relationship. Otherwise, you may be heading for an unhealthy relationship where a breakup is inevitable.
New partnerships always seem exciting and magical. A healthy couple will have a lot of trust and respect for each other’s boundaries. However, you may think that the person loves you back the same way until you scratch below the surface and find out that their behavior is not making you happy.
Read on for nine signs that you may be at the end of a relationship and learn why you need to protect yourself emotionally and physically.
1. They’re Critical of You
In unhealthy relationships, one person often wields all the power. They can be jealous and possessive, so they will find creative ways to bring you down and crumble your self-esteem. Your partner should be supportive and accepting of who you are.
They should be your biggest cheerleader to celebrate your accomplishments and always want the best for you. However, some people can be overly critical. They are the type to remind you that you are putting on weight when you already feel vulnerable.
If your partner is spending too much time making you upset and breaking down your confidence, they are manipulating you. They know that your low confidence will prevent you from leaving them, so they find little things to criticize about you to hurt your feelings.
2. They’re Jealous All the Time
Possessiveness or extreme jealousy is a surefire way of knowing that you are in a toxic relationship. A healthy relationship should steadily be built on trust, openness, and respect.
If your loved one is always in a foul mood because you left them to spend time with your friends, you should be noticing red flags all over the place. A partner who trusts you will never have an issue if you want to text someone else or spend a few hours or days apart.
3. They’re a Clingy Narcissist
If your partner does not trust you, they will always want to know your whereabouts and what you are doing. They will always keep a close eye on your movements to ensure that you are not meeting or talking to anyone they do not know about.
Your partner may also take up a lot of your time by constantly messaging and calling. This is because they want to know that your attention is always on them and not another person. If they are not respectful of your boundaries, you should start planning an exit with these tips for divorce.
4. They Hate Your Friends
Many people fall into this trap thinking that if their partner wants to spend every waking minute of every day with them, it is endearing. Unfortunately, this one of the common signs of a toxic relationship because the person you are in love with is actively cutting you off from other people who also care about you.
They know that you have an outside support system and can leave at any time. Therefore, they isolate you from people you care about to ensure that you always depend solely on them and never walk out on an unhealthy relationship.
5. They Make You Feel Guilty
If your partner constantly pressures you to do what they want, this is a toxic relationship. This is one of the more complex signs to recognize because it feels friendly and inclusive when someone wants you to spend a lot of time doing things they love.
However, they may never reciprocate by participating in your activities and always want you to stick to their plan. They may also say, “If you loved me, you would not say no.” This is a manipulative tactic that you should be careful about because it gives them a lot of control by playing with your emotions.
6. They Are Always Angry
Although disagreements and conflicts can happen all the time, you should always have equality and mutual respect to talk about your problems in a civil manner.
If your partner is destructive and gets angry instead of listening to your side, you could be heading for a breakup. Your partner may yell a lot or even show signs of violent tendencies.
You should never ignore this trouble with your partner. Keep in touch with your friends and find a safe place to go if things get out of hand.
7. They Always Blame You
We are all adults who are responsible for our actions. However, we can come across a narcissist who can never do wrong. Your partner may be someone who always assumes they are right and will defend their mistakes to the ends of the earth instead of losing control and apologizing.
You should always be cautious if you come across those who never accept their responsibilities and wrongdoings.
8. They Make All Decisions
When someone loves and sees you as an equal, they will never neglect your opinions. In healthy relationships, both people should feel respected and heart. However, in a toxic relationship, one person may be calling all the shots and making every decision.
This is because they value maintaining control over your happiness. For instance, you may never get to decide where to go on vacation because they make all the plans and expect you to go along with their choices.
This is one of the most severe relationship problems because one person becomes smothering while the other feels neglected all the time.
9. They Threaten You
Most abusers exert power and play mind games in toxic relationships. They can intimidate you and make you emotionally vulnerable. For example, they may use their body to block the doorway to frighten you so that you let your guard down for them to win.
This is a sign of a dangerous and abusive person that you should stay away from. An abusive partner can also manipulate you by threatening to hurt themselves. This is to make you feel sorry for them, so they always get their way while you stand aside quietly.
Trust Your Gut
If you are experiencing an unhealthy relationship, you may already know this because something in your gut does not feel right about the person you are with.
You may not be able to make sense of your feelings, but you should not ignore red flags if you feel uncomfortable for any reason. If you enjoyed reading this relationship guide, check out some of our other articles for more information.
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