15 Signs of a Toxic Relationship

15 Signs of a Toxic Relationship

Toxic relationships will cause monumental breakage to people, families and workplaces, but they aren’t necessarily the territory of the weak, downtrodden or insecure. Strong, healthy, independent people can find themselves in the white-knuckled grip of a toxic relationship. Similarly, relationships that seem to begin strong because ‘omg we’re soooo in love you guys,’ can dissolve into nothing but ash and legal fees that could have bought a castle on the river Seine, if they weren’t being used to divide half your assets more ‘half-ly’.

Relationships evolve. They change and they grow. Sometimes they crash and they burn. We never know how things will look when each other’s less adorable, kind of awful habits start to show themselves publicly, or under the influence of alcohol or in-laws.

Some relationships are all shades of wrong from the outset (‘Darlin’ you’re so pretty. You’re the image of my ex. See? Here’s her photo. You can keep that one. I have plenty – in my wallet, as my screen saver, on my bedside table, at my mum’s house, on my desk, on my fridge and yeah, all over the place. Sometimes I just, like, hold it in front of me and run backwards and pretend like she’s chasing me. Wanna get some tequila baby?’) Some start off with promise and with all the right ingredients, but somewhere along the way, the right ingredients get replaced with resentment, jealousy, history and hurt.

We love love. Of course we do. Love sends us to joyous, lofty heights that we never want to come down from, but the same heart that can send us into a loved-up euphoria can trip us up and have us falling into something more toxic. The hot pursuit of love can be blinding. Even worse, sometimes it’s not until you’re two kids and a mortgage into the relationship, that you realise something has been missing for a while, and that something is you.

What is a toxic relationship?

A toxic relationship contaminates your self-esteem, your happiness and the way you see yourself and the world. A toxic person will float through life with a trail of broken hearts, broken relationships and broken people behind them, but toxic relationships don’t necessarily end up that way because the person you fell for turned out to be a toxic one. Relationships can start healthy, but bad feelings, bad history, or long-term unmet needs can fester, polluting the relationship and changing the people in it. It can happen easily and quickly, and it can happen to the strongest people.

Can I fix it?

All relationships are worth the fight, until they’re not. In a toxic relationship there will always be fallout:

  • moodiness, anger, unhappiness become the norm;
  • you avoid each other more and more;
  • work and relationships outside the toxic relationship start to suffer.

If the relationship is toxic, it is highly likely that all the fight in the world won’t change anything because one or both people have emotionally moved on. Perhaps they were never really there in the first place, or not in the way you needed them to be anyway. Even worse, if your relationship is toxic, you will be more and more damaged by staying in it.

Fighting to hold on to something that is not fighting to hold on to you will ruin you. Sometimes the only thing left to do is to let go with grace and love and move on.

What are the signs that I’m in a toxic relationship?

Being aware that the relationship is toxic is vital in protecting yourself from breakage. To stay in a toxic relationship is to keep your hand hovering over the self-destruct button. Not all toxic relationships are easy to leave, but being aware of the signs will make it easier to claim back your power and draw a bold heavy line around what’s allowed into your life and what gets closed out.

Toxic behaviour exists on a spectrum. All people and all relationships do some of these things some of the time – but that doesn’t make them toxic. A toxic relationship is defined by the consistency, the intensity and the damage. Here are some of the signs.

  1. It feels bad. All the time.

    You fall asleep hollow and you wake up just as bad. You look at other couples doing their happy couple thing and you feel the sting. Why couldn’t that sort of love happen for you? It can, but first you have to clear the path for it to find you. Leaving a relationship is never easy, but staying for too long in a toxic relationship will make sure any strength, courage and confidence in you are eroded down to nothing. Once that happens, you’re stuck.

  2. You’re constantly braced for the ‘gotcha’.

    Sometimes you can see it coming. Sometimes you wouldn’t see it if it was lit with stadium floodlights. Questions become traps. (‘Well would you rather go out with your friends or stay home with me?’) Statements become traps. (‘You seemed to enjoy talking to your boss tonight.’) The relationship is a jungle and somewhere along the way you’ve turned into a hunted thing in a skin suit. When the ‘gotcha’ comes, there’s no forgiveness, just the glory of catching you out. It’s impossible to move forward from this. Everyone makes mistakes, but yours are used as proof that you’re too uninvested, too wrong, too stupid, too something. The only thing you really are is too good to be treated like this.

  3. You avoid saying what you need because there’s just no point.

    We all have important needs in relationships. Some of the big ones are connection, validation, appreciation, love, sex, affection. When those needs are mocked or ignored, the emptiness of that unmet need will clamour like an old church bell. If your attempts to talk about what you need end in a fight, a(nother) empty promise, accusations of neediness, insecurity, jealousy or madness you’ll either bury the need or resent that it keeps being overlooked. Either way, it’s toxic.

  4. There’s no effort.

    Standing on a dance floor doesn’t make you a dancer, and being physically present in a relationship doesn’t mean there is an investment being made in that relationship. Doing things separately sometimes is healthy, but as with all healthy things, too much is too much. When there is no effort to love you, spend time with you, share the things that are important to you, the relationship stops giving and starts taking too much. There comes a point that the only way to respond to ‘Well I’m here, aren’t I?’ is, ‘Yeah. But maybe better if you weren’t.’

  5. All the work, love, compromise comes from you.

    Nobody can hold a relationship together when they are the only one doing the work. It’s lonely and it’s exhausting. If you’re not able to leave the relationship, give what you need to give but don’t give any more than that. Let go of the fantasy that you can make things better if you try hard enough, work hard enough, say enough, do enough. Stop. Just stop. You’re enough. You always have been.

  6. When ‘no’ is a dirty word.

    ‘No’ is an important word in any relationship. Don’t strike it from your vocabulary, even in the name of love – especially not in the name of love. Healthy relationships need compromise but they also respect the needs and wants of both people. Communicating what you want is as important for you and the relationship as communicating what you don’t want. Find your ‘no’, give it a polish, and know where the release button is. A loving partner will respect that you’re not going to agree with everything they say or do. If you’re only accepted when you’re saying ‘yes’, it’s probably time to say ‘no’ to the relationship. And if you’re worried about the gap you’re leaving, buy your soon-to-be ex some putty. Problem solved.

  7. The score card. Let me show you how wrong you are.

    One of the glorious things about being human is that making mistakes is all part of what we do. It’s how we learn, how we grow, and how we find out the people who don’t deserve us. Even the most loving, committed partners will do hurtful, stupid things sometimes. When those things are brought up over and over, it will slowly kill even the healthiest relationship and keep the ‘guilty’ person small. At some point, there has to be a decision to move on or move out. Having shots continually fired at you based on history is a way to control, shame and manipulate. Healthy relationships nurture your strengths. Toxic ones focus on your weaknesses.

  8. There’s a battle – and you’re on your own. Again.

    You and your partner are a team. You need to know that whatever happens, you have each other’s backs, at least publicly. In healthy relationships, when the world starts throwing stones, the couple comes together and fortifies the wall around each other. Toxic relationships often see one person going it alone when it comes to public put-downs. Similarly, when attempts are made from outside the relationship to divide and conquer, the couple is divided and conquered as easily as if they were never together in the first place.

  9. Physical or verbal abuse. Or both.

    These are deal-breakers. You know they are.

  10. Too much passive-aggressive.

    Passive-aggressive behaviour is an indirect attack and a cowardly move for control. The toxicity lies in stealing your capacity to respond and for issues to be dealt with directly. The attack is subtle and often disguised as something else, such as anger disguised as indifference ‘whatever’ or ‘I’m fine’; manipulation disguised as permission ‘I’ll just stay at home by myself while you go out and have fun,’ and the worst – a villain disguised as a hero, ‘You seem really tired baby. We don’t have to go out tonight. You just stay in and cook yourself some dinner and I’ll have a few drinks with Svetlana by myself hey? She’s been a mess since the cruise was postponed.’ You know the action or the behaviour was designed to manipulate you or hurt you, because you can feel the scrape, but it’s not obvious enough to respond to the real issue. If it’s worth getting upset about, it’s worth talking about, but passive-aggressive behaviour shuts down any possibility of this.

  11. Nothing gets resolved.

    Every relationship will have its issues. In a toxic relationship, nothing gets worked through because any conflict ends in an argument. There is no trust that the other person will have the capacity to deal with the issue in a way that is safe and preserves the connection. When this happens, needs get buried, and in a relationship, unmet needs will always feed resentment.

  12. Whatever you’re going through, I’m going through worse.

    In a healthy relationship, both people need their turn at being the supported and the supporter. In a toxic relationship, even if you’re the one in need of support, the focus will always be on the other person. ‘Babe like I know you’re really sick and can’t get out of bed but it’s soooo stressful for me because now I have to go to the party by myself. Next Saturday I get to choose what we do. K? [sad emoji, balloon emoji, heart emoji, another heart emoji, lips emoji].’

  13. Privacy? What privacy?

    Unless you’ve done something to your partner that you shouldn’t have, like, you know, forgot you had one on ‘Singles Saturday’, then you deserve to be trusted. Everybody deserves some level of privacy and healthy relationships can trust that this won’t be misused. If your partner constantly goes through your receipts, phone bills, text messages this shows a toxic level of control. It’s demeaning. You’re an adult and don’t need constant supervision.

  14. The lies. Oh the lies!

    Lying and cheating will dissolve trust as if it was never there to begin with. Once trust is so far gone, it’s hard to get it back. It might come back in moments or days, but it’s likely that it will always feel fragile – just waiting for the wrong move. A relationship without trust can turn strong, healthy people into something they aren’t naturally – insecure, jealous and suspicious. The toxicity of this lies in the slow erosion of confidence. Sometimes all the fight in the world can’t repair trust when it’s badly broken. Know when enough is enough. It’s not your fault that the trust was broken, but it’s up to you to make sure that you’re not broken next.

  15. Big decisions are for important people. And clearly, you’re not one of them.

    If you’re sharing your life with someone, it’s critical that you have a say in the decisions that will affect you. Your partner’s opinions and feelings will always be important, and so are yours. Your voice is an important one. A loving partner in the context of a healthy relationship will value your thoughts and opinions, not pretend that they don’t exist or assume theirs are more important.

I think I might be in a toxic relationship. What now?

If it’s toxic, it’s changing you and it’s time to leave or put up a very big wall. (See here for how.) Be clear about where the relationship starts and where you begin. Keep your distance emotionally and think of it as something to be managed, rather than something to be beaten or understood. Look for the patterns and look for the triggers. Then, be mindful about what is okay and what isn’t. Above all else, know that you are strong, complete and vital. Don’t buy into any tiny-hearted, close-minded push that would have you believe otherwise. You’re amazing.

And finally …

There are plenty of reasons you might end up in a toxic relationship, none of which have nothing to do with strength of character or courage.

Sometimes the toxicity grows and blindsides you and by the time you realise, it’s too late – the cost of leaving might feel too high or there may be limited options.

Toxicity in any relationship doesn’t make sense. In an attempt to make it make sense, you might blame history, circumstance or your own behaviour. The truth is that none of this matters. It doesn’t matter where the toxicity comes from or the reason for it being there.

Love and happiness don’t always go together. The world would run so much smoother if they did, but it just doesn’t happen like that. Love can be a dirty little liar sometimes. So can commitment. Staying in a relationship should never have losing yourself as one of the conditions. You’re far too important for that.

It’s important to make sacrifices in relationships but your happiness, self-esteem and self-respect should always be on the list – always. If a relationship is built on love, it nurtures, restores, replenishes and revives. It doesn’t diminish. It isn’t cruel and it doesn’t ever violate a warm, open heart. Everything you need to be happy is in you. When you are with someone who suffocates those precious parts of you, be alive to the damage they are doing. You owe them nothing, you owe yourself everything. You deserve to thrive and to feel safe, and you deserve to be happy.

[irp posts=”1602″ name=”When It’s Not You, It’s Them: The Toxic People That Ruin Friendships, Families, Relationships”]

345 Comments

Alice S

Sometimes one may have a pattern of toxic relationships, even starting in the childhood, in general early in life. Their parents have toxic behaviour and the child reproduce some of them throughout their lives. People accept and stay in toxic relationships because they’re mostly scared of being alone. If there is no happiness, joy, respect, affinity and love, a relationship can show up signs of constant disagreements, exchange of words, grudges, rancour, resent and anger. One can notice and finally accept of the ‘not happy’ it is! Take action, change or get out.

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Honey J

It is really difficult to see for yourself when you are in a toxic relationship sometimes, I know I have been there. No matter what your friends and family might be telling you, if you’re in love, you won’t be honest with yourself. But this article is really good, all the points and the signs are absolutely right. I hope it will help a lot of people.

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Samantha

Got married to my husband, he married me for papers, then had a kid, got kicked out twice and then he came back I said no.. he was so abusive, so why am I suddenly feeling guilty after 4 years of being separated

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Jason C.

Some people are hardwired to blame themselves regardless. Perhaps feeling responsible for the transactional nature of the marriage (for papers). Perhaps wishing it would work out for the child. Either way…walk away and don’t look bad.

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Kat

Any input on my marriage of 14 years? I find myself longing for other men that hold qualities that i would love to see in my husband. My husband is 11 years older than me. we have a long story so long story short, Im always wrong he’s always right, my past gets rubbed in my face constantly making it so what I want does not count, we argue a lot, I try to get out of the arguments before they start but he has to make sure it ends bad. he doesn’t respect my religious views which Ive had since he met me(all my life and I don’t ask for much). Everything we(kids included) are things he likes to do but not things we like to do. I have bent in his direction in every way but he only bends in mine just takes teensy weensy bits in little steps that he really doesn’t want to take but has to for the sake of not looking like an ass in front of everybody. I am a different person because of him. I am so stressed and anxious all the time my doctor has prescribed me medication for it. My kids don’t respect him anymore, he has to drink and use some kind of substance as soon as he gets home from work, he doesn’t like anybody including my family. I do the man work in the house, I do all the work in the house and with the kids, the house is NEVER clean enough, he doesn’t allow me to go back to school and doesnt care to see me become successful at anything, I get in trouble for every penny I spend including groceries(I have 3 kids 9, 13 and 15). there are so many other things. On a positive note, we care for each other and love each other, sex is insane, he’s loyal, he’s a hard worker and a great provider, he still comes to church with me but its the bare minimal. Please excuse my punctuation, I gave up!:)

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Cali

This doesn’t sound loving. Also how do you know he’s loyal and is it just because hes old tired and cheap? And how can the sex be that great? Sounds like you have no real intimacy. I dont know what else to say but this sounds lonely abusive and hurtful.

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Nicky r

I’m convinced my husband is toxic and a narcissist,he’s constantly putting me down and our sons,he feels he’s the better person and he wants to be the centre of attention and that we’ve ruined his life. I dread going home and I’m sick of walking on eggshells. We haven’t had sex for over six years. He binge drinks at the weekend and go through fifteen cans a night,then come the morning he starts again. I hate being around him, he’s selfish, ignorant and is unable to show feelings other than anger or disappointment.Sorry this is long winded.

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Jason C

That sounds eerily like my experience…only the gender roles were reversed. Married seven years and I went from being on a pedestal to being marginalized and soul crushed. To make matters worse…the relationship had “just enough” tender moments that I stayed longer than I should have vainly hoping it would get better (it didnt).

That’s the quandary you’re in. Is the glass half empty or half full? Is my partner Dr. Jekyll or Mr.. Hyde? If he’s a narcissist…he’s the latter not the former. Narcissists are masters of manipulation…they’ll leave their partner starved for affection but drop just enough bread crumbs to keep that person from leaving but never enough to feel secure. If their partner is an empath or an optimist…these bread crumbs will give that person vain hope that the relationship can be fixed (when most of the time it can’t).

Bottom line. You have to decide if your life is better with him or without him. If this dismissal of your feelings and that if your children is a phase or simply who he is. If it’s who he is…time to seriously consider a different path.

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Kim

So I’m 4 months pregnant with my partner’s baby. My emotions are all over the place anyway but I keep telling myself that it will get better when the baby arrives.
I’ve always been such a positive person and I enjoy making others happy. I’m very social and work in public house. My partner doesn’t like this.. he doesn’t seem to like me having any sort of realtionship with anyone but him.. if I organise a day out for us both with a friend his face drops and he says it’s fine but I can tell that he doesn’t want to do it. But yet if I leave him to organise something it doesn’t get done and we end up playing separate video games and barley talking to each other.. The longer this has been going on the more distant I have become and j find it harder and harder to talk to him because he gets so defensive and he ends up raising his voice and then in return so do I. He’s constantly making digs at the things I do and instead of pointing out the positive he always bring up the negatives in what I’ve done. For example: you’ve done really well stopping the drinking but, that one pate sandwich you had is going to ruin our babies health and it will be all your fault. Obviously he doesn’t word it like that but that is the underlying dig.
Don’t get me wrong I am no angel myself. I am quite defensive over the things I care strongly about, but he knew who I was before and everybody else seems to think I am a good person and I am so proud of myself on how far I have come (we both used to drink and smoke quite a lot before we found out we were pregnant) and I’ve always had insomnia but have stopped my treatment incase it causes growth problems, but he doesn’t praise me on this he makes me feel bad about having the odd cigarette yet he hasn’t cut down on cigarettes at all!
I feel like I can’t say anything because I am being selfish and eveytime I bring something up I am the bad person even though in feeling so bad inside he makes me feel like I’m in the wrong for feeling that way.. am I in the wrong for feeling that way?
He says he loves me and will ‘change’ but that makes me feel so guilty because I fell in love with the carefree fun person. Not this miserable negative person who puts me down.. and the longer this relationship has been going on the more toxic I have become towards him.. even to the point that I no longer want to have sex and will bottle it up so much that he starts Getting upset.. but yet the more he gets upset now, the more it frustrates me and annoys me that we can’t have an adult conversation without him getting petty and emotional.. I know he is a sensitive person but sometimes I wonder wether it’s just his way of using it against me to make me feel even worse about everything. I guess I’m looking for someone to come forward and tell me that I’m just worrying too much about this whole thing. Is it me? A response would be appreciated, I have gotten to the point where suicide though enter my thoughts most nights.

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Jennifer Q

Kat. My life seems to mirror yours down to the time married and the ages of the kids. I’m spooked. If you could email me at ( Qualls.jen at Gmail) I would genuinely appreciate someone who understood and could be a source of validation. What has happened for you in the past year?

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Bryn

Honey, you need to ask yourself a few questions.
Are you happy with him?
Can you see yourself with him forever?
Do you love him unconditionally?
Does he make you feel happy and special and lucky to have him?
Are you staying just because you have a child with him?
If all of them are no, you need to evaluate your relationship with this guy.
I’d you are thinking of suicide, don’t do it. There are people who care about you.
Even me, a random person on the internet who read your comment and wanted to try and help..
The bible says this about love. Love is patient,love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, and it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self seeking, and it is not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs.love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.It always protects, always trusts, and always hopes and always perseveres.
Is your love for each other like that?

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Joy

Sadly, I am in this type of relationship. I live with my partner since the day I got pregnant and we both live with my parents. We are not married yet And I don’t even see myself getting married to him at all. Our son has just turned 1 year old. He is very controlling. He decides what dress I wear, to whom I hang out with, he decides who I make friends and not make friends with. He even made me choose between him and my longest time girl BFF! He makes me feel like I owe him a lot! When it fact we were both depending on my parents since he was just a student and I just graduated college. He is 19 and I am 21. I don’t want my son to grow up without a dad since his been doing a good job taking care of him, and I just don’t see other people if ever I will meet another person someday that would care of my son as much as a real parent would. My only problem is that he is very controlling and I’m afraid to make a mistake I’m not even guilty of. I want to end our relationship as early as possible but how? We were both too attached to both our in-laws and relatives. And it would break them if we split up.

I know that some of you will say we can still fix this or what but I feel like I deserve better. He disrespects me most of the time. I feel like I’m changing and I don’t think I love him that much anymore. All is left was hatred. I want to fix it but I don’t want my son to grow up in a toxic relationship. How should I end this? How to make our parents understand? Please give me an advice. I dont have anyone to talk to since he doesnt like me to talk to my bff behind his back.

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Jaime

Hello, I for sure am in a toxic relationship..it didn’t start out that way, he is a stand up guy…but just not right for me.. we have a 13 month old together and he fathered my oldest when he was 2 years old..he is now 8 and still has no idea that his daddy isn’t his biological dad and is unaware of who his DNA dad is.. my question is…how do you get out of a toxic relationship when kids are involved?

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Faith

Hi Kim. What you’ve described is not a healthy relationship. It’s not just you. Your feelings are valid and important. Whatever you do, do not let him isolate you from friends and family. Keep in touch with the people you are close to. It sounds like he has some of the same issues that I experienced with my son’s father. After I had the baby it only got worse because I got postpartum depression and I just felt myself giving in more and more. Reach out to friends and family. It would be good to talk with your doctor too, maybe they can refer a counselor. You want to be as healthy as you can for your baby physically of course (kudos to you for cutting down on the smoking and not drinking!! :), but you also want to be emotionally and mentally healthy for your baby’s sake and for your sake. You’re a wonderful person and will be an awesome mom. Good luck to you!!! Xo

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Alida

I guess it’s clear that I am in a very toxic relationship every time I try to get love I’m always let down instead then tell her to fix my problems in my situation and I’m also so how can I show you love is when a happy or comfortable I feel went into relationship if you’re not happy and comfortable those are things that we work on because we’re trying to grow together not down me because you feel like I’m not taking care of it the way they would It’s frustrating it’s hard and very exhausting

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Chelsea

Well the outing part. If that friend is not a friend of his then things will be awkward for him though. I mean I wont like to go out with my bf and another friend of his who I barely know.

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Cheekycara

I was a child growing up with a mother who was treated as you now are. Hurtful, belittling, bullying, controlling, did everything and nothing good enough and it also transferred to me and my siblings. I, as are my siblings are mentally scared from this and no amount of counselling with heal the wounds.

He too has good qualities and my closest friends have no idea but the environment was so toxic and we were always afraid of his mood. Think of your kids and the impact on them if you can’t think for yourself.

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Marina

I am reading these comments and have seen lots of what i am going thru was he your father or step father. I feel my kids are afraid of him like you say

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Confused

Hi after reading your page,i did not note am in a toxic relationship been with my guy four years but he changed canceling our dates lies.he says he is busy now we see each other months n he refuse I go to his place instead he insist he will come.communication became less and if we talk we end up arguing. I end up so sad that he chose his best friend over me and says every fight i start is that I don’t trust him

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Rosh

I went thru every single one of those stages.. she left me and moved on to someone new..she even called me and compared how great this girl is. then strung me along txting me while with this girl telling me she still loves me and that she’s confused. She’s very manipulative..I hate that I still love her. Deep down I want her back. How do I shake that feeling off! I feel poisoned by her

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Surya

Hi,

I am also in the same situation where my fiancée is very toxic she always tells a lie and over her boyfriend she broken marriage before one day blaming me in the public again she came back with her parents and then she started the same things. I really always tired or exhausted she never loved me she always threatens me to leave the relationship. But now I tired and said to her No so my dear friend I say come out from such relationship.

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TEENA

WOW THIS SITUATION REALLY SPOKE TO ME. I am dealing with this situation everyday! We have been together for 10 years this past May, straight out of high school. One 6 year old son! He is a great father, I cant take that from him but i just feel like he uses me. I just recently found out 2 weeks ago, that he has been cheating on me for 6 months with another one. She popped up at my house and told me! They have been having sex unprotected while I’m at work! I haven’t left because I don’t want to make myself or my son uncomfortable by being on our own! We have never done that before! He is still dealing with this female! He is still being sneaky and sneaking off in the middle of the night! Talking to her behind my back and I don’t know what to do! I keep asking for closure or begging him to talk to me and he just wont! I’m so lost and hurt because this man is my everything and I’m afraid I am losing him to another woman. He disrespects me, calls me out my name when he is mad, he is not PHYSICALLY abusive, but is very VERBALLY abusive. He makes me feel like all of this is my fault and I just don’t know how to proceed! I’m only 25! Anytime i tell him that I am leaving, he blows it off and laughs and says ” we are a family, are you really going to break up a happy family”. He is very manipulative! Please help

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Crystal S

You only get one life save yourself and your child from any more pain and end the relationship, it will hurt at first but find self help information online and books at libraries, and find hobbies stay busy while you heal and move on

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Katrina

Girl run!!!You said the key word you love him …he know that!Time to love you …and raise your son!Later on your son going to treat you like his daddy do then what! You allow it and accept it!Stop talking about and leave have a plan!One of those night if the house is your change the locks!If not he will come home to a empty house!Forget the dumb 💩!Dont take his sorry but back!Change for two week get worst!25 time for you to get out and do you!

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Steven B.

Happily married for 5yrs. The 1st one cheated behind my back several times. After 27.5 yrs, she wanted out so I said goodbye. Found my current wife and now it’s deja Vu all over again. This one loves me like I’ve never been before. She recently told me that she feels our marriage is totally solid and that I’m the love of her life. But, she has been thinking about it and she says she wants variety and to have sexual activities with other men and would I be ok with it. I’m hurting bad. I don’t know how to deal with this stuff anymore…

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Mr. Fretless

Dump her lying ass. Dump her fast. She wants you to be daddy while she dates the “bad boys”. With all due respect… I bet she came at you with a lot of sex EARLY in your relationship. Do not buy into this.
Follow your gut. Plenty of women out there you do not need to share. Her idea not yours. You can be polite but stay strong and
D U M P H E R F A S T. You deserve better. F’ing BS

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Stephen H

Wow, amidst covid and having to isolate I’ve found myself here, my partner is very driven and resourceful, she work 9 to 5 for nhs, I’m self employed fitting bathrooms and kitchens, her daughters boyfriend who she moved in with, leaving a new 3 bed, now rented to live in a tired midterraced house, we support and offer help as it requested and when we able to, she has 2 sons and one daughter, recently the decided to retire there bathroom, good effort, but no the finish they were looking for, the tiling they fitted required removing and I would tile the walls around the bath for free when I had some time, as its a realitivly small job, they started removing tiles and the tiles they tiled over came away, resulting in a major job breaking out.
My self and employee called round after work, the whole room needed stripping back to brick, so we isolated water etc and advised them to carry on stripping the walls of all plaster etc, we returned the following evening and lined the entire room, the next day my partner called me and asked me if I new a plumber who could do the job quicker as the had no wc, basin or bath, I said I didn’t know anyone available at such short notice, I did it with a 2 days help from my employee and back holiday weekend spent fitting the bathroom out, in the meantime they were living with us, I supplied some fitting foc, some consumables had to be paid for, £200.00 and £200.00 to my colleague, I didn’t expect to charge the full price but I did expect some renumeration, my partner dealt with her daughter, she told her £160.00 for materials not the £200.00
3 months have gone past im not happy to have done a bathroom for my partners daughters now fiancee for free, my partner thinks I am unreasonable expecting some payment, I don’t mind helping, my view is it was a job and more than helping.

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Janey Dough

This article really out everything into perspective for Me. I know I’m in Toxic Relationship, this article validated it by listing and describing what is toxic coming from both of us. Now it’s just me having the balls with following through with what I know I have to do.

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Elizabeth

Hello, you have rights to your home that is his child he owes you custody. Let him think you are weak 😏😉 slowly gather evidence of the cheating, the verbal abuse document take notes, document when this girl came to your house etc. track him. Take him to court move on for you and your son. Think of it this way who do you choose your abusive man or your son. Save the both of you. Get him out he found a new girl let him try to knock her up and do it before he leaves for her because she is pregnant. It sucks, but live in your reality you got this it can only get better

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Rebecca S

You and your son deserve so much better.. And he is watching and learning all the behaviors of both his mom and dad. Stand up for and have faith in yourself. Or someday you will have lived a lifetime of regret.. God Bless you!!!!✝️

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April

Time to leave. Will hurt like hell at beginning but promise it will get better. If u cant get the courage to leave then DOCUMENT DOCUMENT DOCUMENT every single thing! Every abusive word to u or child, every cheat, money, the way you feel, every slimy move he does or says to you! EVERYTHING ! You will need it later for when you get strenght to leave or he decides to leave you! Most times with toxic relationships u dont want to remember the hatefullness or u learn / try to block it out ! And dont remember important details that could help you with child custody or other issues if u need to go to court or file a police report.

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Gina H

I have lied to my man about multiple things. Things that should have no basis on what kind of person I am. For example if I ever dated a black guy. I lied and said no, I was 17 had sex with him twice not really any of his business well he finds out I did and is constantly accusing me everywhere I go and there is a black dude there I must be checking him out. He picks fights with me constantly won’t give me space or just leave me alone or just let me get away from it. I want to leave so bad I try and hurt myself so I can leave in a ambulance death whatever. This article was helpful thank u

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Melissa

Stay and u tech your son that it’s acceptable to treat a woman this way. You’re stronger than you will ever know. There is support from domestic violence counselors you don’t have to file anything just to talk with someone to gain prospective. Save our Sisters and of course he will have to pay child support. Even if you beefed up on public assistance you would be capable of getting an education, job and help for you and your son that will change yours lives forever. Maybe him actually losing you would change him but it will always happen again leopards don’t lose their spots. my oldest son I raised alone5-10 he took off with a mutual friend. Then I remarried 2 more sons husband passed and went thru a relationship with a man that wanted me at his Beck and call till I decided “NO”!
God Bless!

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Rain

Are you Happy with him verbally and emotionally abusing you? Are you ok with your child learning to treat women the way he sees you being treated? If you stay, you are agreeing to be treated like crap. It might be hard but leaving is the logical thing to do

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Qween

I’m not sure what’s going on with me. I married a man I did not know thinking because he was a praying Muslim man he knew his responsibility as a husband. He argues how he pays all the bills and remind you he only pays rent. I have been asking him to do the groceries since he only pays rent it’s him myself and my 16 year old son since he as the man like to eat so heavily. Now even though I do little things for him he say I do nothing for him. I want to live him but this constant arguing and him blaming me saying I don’t help him makes it hard for me. I went to apply for our credit check to see where we stand at on getting a house and found out he has 100000 in child support arrears. How can I trust him he say he gone get two jobs and doesn’t has no car no license. I’m just not sure why he try to make all these promises to do things and he don’t do them. I never say nothing cause I’m a see it to believe person when it comes to people. I had the remote watching tv the other nite for the 1 st maybe second time in 2 and a half years and he got mad because I said I’m watching tv tonight. He jumped up and said he’s done with me he don’t want me he is done and went to packing his stuff. So when I I asked for my key after he called me all kind of bitches and hoes I asked for my key he said he give it and leave when he gets ready. So I changed the lock right in front of him because I’m tied of asking for him to show me truth and he keep me on hold waiting and uncertain now he is gone I wish my husband will come back to Jesus. He always argues and leave when it’s close to time to pay rent but I go back and get him this time I’m just gone tuff it out and do my best to make it alone.

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Mariere

I’m so sorry. You are me. You spoke to me, more than her. Be ok and I will protect you with my ❤️

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Unknown

Hi I’m not one to do this but I feel like I can’t talk to anybody else, I’ve been with my boyfriend 5 years on the 28th this month, it started off amazing and I was so happy for the first 2 and a half years…. the past three have been extremely rocky and I feel free and happier every time we stop talking. When I was single for a brief time last year he would send me abusive messages saying I was “selfish” “self centred” and things much worse. I felt the relationship suffocated me and made me feel miserable and insecure about myself.I kissed someone on our break and regretted it instantly. when I told him when we decided to give things another chance, he hasn’t been the same since (which I don’t blame him for) He’s kept this regret and has used it against me since we got back together last year, every single argument he tells me “go fuck other people then you’re used to it” and makes me out to be somebody I really ament, he adds arms and legs to stories and makes me feel awful for things I haven’t even done. I feel so trapped and when I tell him the relationship isn’t a happy place for me anymore I always forgive him when he sends flowers etc, and I feel like I need to go back because I think things will change and they never do. I’ve gotten to the point when I’m crying when we fall out I try to keep it away from my family because my family dislike the way he treats me, and I’m scared to make things worse in case they see me upset and want me to completely cut him off, he has started trying to humiliate me in public when we argue I’ll ask him to leave me alone and give me so space to calm down, but he pushes my face lightly and shouts into my face and follows me and won’t leave me alone. I’m so unhappy yet I always go back I don’t know what else to do.

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Unknown

Im in the same situation and i aswell am stuck on what to do i do love him so much but dont know if things will ever change some days he is the most amazing person ever and then some he can be complete opposite and say such nasty things i dont know if i will ever find a love like that again (when he is is being amazing) so hard i have also been with him for 5 years

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Crystal S

Please leave while you can he wont change ,he will only break down your self esteem stand up for yourself, as long as your alive you can set goals and reach them believe in yourself and say positive things to yourself every day! I wish you a life full of respect and love.

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Kaitlyn A S

You should just drop him. He’s just love bombing and manipulating you. He’s an insecure douche so he feels the need to drag you down with him. Break up with him, block him, and get a restraining order if needed. You deserve better. He doesn’t really love you, he just wants someone he deems as easy to control. Show him how wrong he was and take control of your life. Be free and happy without him. A good man will find you and he’ll treat you right!

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Julia

My husband cheated for 1e 1/2 years.I try to get him to communicate but he says things like i dont say anything important enough for him to listen, he always uses the phrase” i don’t fucking care”, ” i didn’t do anything wrong today” etc.He won’t let me verbalize any of my feelings.He constantly interrpts tl the point i can’t finish a single sentence.O.It has gotten to the point that in order for me to have any say i call him nasty names and say mmean things to hin.Just the other day we were in the car and i couldn’t deescalate the situation and he kept screaming at me and interrupting me for over an hour in busy rush hour traffic.I was like a teapot ready to explode.I reached across the car and popped him square in the mouth.He stopped his behavior but i now am wearing a cast bc i snapped my little finger in half.

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Katrina

Leave!! Not going to get better only worst!Been out of my situation for 15years I am at peace!

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Sara

Hi I’m not sure if I’m in a toxic relationship but here’s my life everything was great 8 years ago and when we moved in together things kinda of taken a turn and when we found out we was pregnant and I had the baby everything really changed in our relationship after my baby was born he wouldn’t help me with our daughter and still won’t change her or feed her and play with her as much and yes he works but when he’s home on a day off he still won’t and I have asked him many times I stoped and just done everything my self and when it comes to her getting in to things I have to tell her no so loud that she would learn and he comes and tell me stop telling her no and there will be some days he makes me think that I shouldn’t be around anymore and I have no family that will help they live far and so I’m just not sure if I should end end it or let it make me feel bad I have tried to talk to him but we just fight and so I don’t talk to him about my feelings anymore

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Vivian

Hello Sara,

I’m sorry that you are going through this…
When my children were born, my husband had a stand-offish attitude towards taking care of them. I think that your husband may have a preconcieved notion on gender roles that, although may not be blatantly toxic, can tire you out and make you feel frustrated.

Belittling you in front of your child and breaking your selfesteem IS TOXIC behaviour. Whatever makes you feel small or angry that he is directly responsible for is an attack on your peace of mind.

I would recommend you have a close confidante that you can talk to. I did not speak about my problems for YEARS until ot ate me up inside and I became a ghost of my former self; living with regret, animosity and bitterness with a touch of depression. It helps if someone tells you that what you are going through isnt normal and is not okay.

I have learned to compartmentalize myself from the relationship and look for joy within myself. Self love is critical for your mental health. Also accept the fact that you cannot change his way of thinking. Whatever he was exposed to or experienced in his formative years plays a vital part in the person you see today. Finally, if he starts to escalate because he sees that he cant put you down anymore, its time to leave.

You are not alone. Be strong Sara.

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Alicia

I’m in the midst of deciding whether to end a toxic relationship or not. My boyfriend or ex – whatever he is at this point, has no trust in me. He constantly accuses me of going on dates with other guys, or sleeping with others. He makes constant comments about how hot other girls are, knowing my insecurities about myself. He gets mad if other guys look at me. He makes snide comments. He gets mad if I spend time with my parents or friends and not him.. And I always have to tell him exactly what I’m doing. I need help..

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Unknown

I am stuck in this I can’t even call it a relationship because he would laugh in my face and tell me how stupid I am for even thinking that. I lost all my friends and family because they didn’t support my relationship and friends just caused more problems now that I have no one to turn to he went to court and got an eviction notice for me to leave his house. I have nothing. No where to go and he wants me to leave. He threatens to call the cops on me every night he gets drunk and harasses me until Im on the verge of suicide.

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Crystal S

Love yourself , you can do better leave ,go to a shelter , find self help information and nurture yourself with positive words ,you are worth being g loved and treated with respect!

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Amanda

Don’t kill yourself for a man my sister
We’re all going through hell
Being broke is the only thing making me to low myself in my relationship otherwise i would have ended things compeletly

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Willy

Let me start by saying I’m truly moved by this because it almost explains my situation exactly how I’m living it. My only concern is that no matter how f I try and relate it specifically to me it fits and if I try and relate it to my wife it fits.
We both have our faults and issues and have been at this now for so long it feels normal when we are together and I feel guilty for trying to live. Even though we separated now nearly eight months ago it still continues. She filed for divorce because she says it’s what I wanted yet she finds ways to keep stalling it.
I have no doubts this is a very toxic relationship for both of us and I take fault in it as well as me blaming her. My problem is I truly feel stuck. I supported her decisions to not work in an unhappy environment, which lead to many years of her being unemployed. Yep you guessed it I pay all the bills while she still doesn’t work and complains that she is always alone. I don’t have anything I want from this failing problem just out, but I’m trapped by laws and by my financial obligations. So with such a great article I would love to hear some thoughts on how the hell I get out of this. I have become severely depressed and just want her to let me go.

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Sheena

Omg girl by reading this I wanted to cry I’m going through so much right I don’t even know where to start your story is soooo close to mines so I am gonna get started right now my bf everything changed since lately and I blame it an his new friends they’re always here they never gives me time with him and when I talk about it he gets mad and say I don’t want him to have any friends he been texting at night it doesn’t matter the time I found out abt 2 weeks now he has cheated on me and I confronted him and he dont say anything but he’s trying to get rid of her I was broken 😔I cried everyday when I remembered I don’t know why I’m so stuck an don’t want to leave I’m so afraid of being alone 😔💔he tell mi that we ain’t gonna work and weren’t meant for each other last night and I stressing him and I most go home. I love him so much I want to leave and I don’t want to I really don’t know where to go I’m confused and broken 😕😔😞💔😐

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MELISSA C

THIS HIT THE SPOT ON SO MANY LEVELS IN MY 8 YEAR LONG RELATIONSHIP. THE RELATIONSHIP ENDED YEARS AGO IN MY HEART, BUT TECHNICALLY 3 MONTHS AGO WAS FORMALLY OVER.
IT WAS OF COURSE GREAT AT FIRST, BUT DIDNT TAKE LONG TO WHIRLWIND INTO A DOMINANT SITUATION ON HIS BEHALF. THE FEELING OF DOMINANCE STARTED WHEN HE WANTED TO ALWAYS ASK ABOUT ANYTIME I WAS AWAY FROM HIM, LIKE AN INTEROGATION, OR WHILE TOGETHER IF A MAN AND I HAD ANY KINDA CONTACT THERE WERE ALWAYS QUESTIONS THAT PUT ME ON EDGE, OR FELT THE NEED TO WALK ON EGGSHELLS DUE TO THE ANSWERS THAT I GIVE MAY CALL FOR MORE QUESTIONS ON HIS BEHALF, THEN I WOULD FEEL OR LOOK GUILTY WHEN THAT WASNT THE CASE AT ALL. THEN I FELT UNTRUSTED, AND THIS PUSHED ME AWAY FROM THE INTIMATE PORTION OF OUR RELATIONSHIP. I NEED TO FEEL A DEEP CONNECTION WITH MY PARTNER. I NEED TO BE SHOWN LOVE BY ACTIONS, OR SMALL TRINKETS OF EMOTION. YES I LIKE TRINKETS. I MADE THIS KNOWN, IT COULD MEAN MATERALISTIC IN SOME EYES, BUT I FEEL IT PEAKS MY INTEREST IN MY MATE. KEEPS THINGS CONNECTED IN SOME WAY. I WOULD LITERALLY ASK FOR THIS FROM HIM, AND WOULD GET YOU ARE WANTING TO BE WOOED, OR YOUR EXPECTING A FAIRY TALE. YA KNOW WHAT MAYBE I AM, BUT WHEN I BLATENTLY ASK FRO THESE THINGS AFTER 5 YEARS INTO IT, I WOULD HOPE THEY WOULD RESPOND BU AT LEAST TRYING. BUT NOT, IT WAS STILL THE MANIPULATIVE WAYS OF MAKING ME BELIEVE WHAT I WANT OR NEED WAS WRONG, OR NEEDY, OR UNATAINABLE. THIS ALL SENT ME INTO A DEPRESSION LIKE NO OTHER. I STAYED BECAUSE HE WAS A DECENT HUMAN BEING, STABLE IN WORK, LOVED FAMILY, DIDNT DO DRUGS, SAYS HE LOVES ME. BUT I STILL FELT A HUGE VOID… SO I MOVED OUT AFTER7.7 YEARS OF THE RELATIONSHIP. I EVEN ASKED HIM TO CHASE ME, MAKE ME FEEL WANTED, MAKE ME FEEL NEW AGAIN, BUT NO, IT WAS STILL SOMETHING THAT “NOBODY DOES FOR THEIR PARTNER”. I FINALLY BROKE IT OFF FOR GOOD, AND HERE WE ARE 3 MONTHS LATER AND I CRY BECAUSE HE MOVED ON. I FEEL LIKE I FAILED, LIKE I WAS STILL TO BLAME THAT I COULDNT LOVE HIM LIKE I WANTED TO. HURT THAT AFTER 8 YEARS HE JUST UP AND MOVED ONTO SOMEONE, AND I CANT EVEN TALK TO A MAN, BUT I LEFT!! I DONT GET IT! PLEASE SHED SOME LIGHT ON MY SUBJECT.
THANKS A MILLION

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SuzyQ

Wow,. He always says to me ” next year” on getting a birthday present, Valentine’s card or flower , next year & with half a laugh…it’s been 10 yrs Nothing ,. Doesn’t ever want to kiss , cuddle , hold hands , smile , go for walks , is cold , it’s all about him , ..some or most ha ..All the sex is about him …I think I’m just his hooker , he never seems proud of me. …he doesn’t even like me. ..the thought of him being happy & nice to another drives me crazy …Cuz why couldn’t it be me …it never will. .he will be affectionate with some girl
But I just don’t have any coals to warm up this Toad Troll or Ogreville….Alaska or bust

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Crystal S

In my opinion I think he is unhappy with himself and if you were to leave him and he move on and find someone else at 1st yeah he would treat them nice and then he would start treating them bad just like he treated you, unless he gets mental help he will treat anybody he gets with awful. Love yourself and leave him as soon as you can. You deserve to be treated with love and respect I know it’s hard it is not easy but just keep finding Self Help information to heal yourself and become a better person than you were yesterday. Do stuff you love to do.

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TEENA

I believe he moved on because he too is hurting! I understand your pain! This is the reason I am scared to leave now

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Sarah A

Wow is all I can say. Both my ex husband and my married best female friend were toxic. I left as I was burned out. I was never good enough. I did all the cooking, cleaning and laundry etc. Along with all the flower gardens and mowing lawns. I had 3 jobs 1 full time 2 part time. I never had a moment to myself from daybreak to bed time. I am a very passive person and I let him use me I just never had enough I do not know what you would call it oomph to leave him but I did. What broke the camels back is he always and still does talk about my ex best friend. He always has and still does treat her better than he ever treated me. If I say anything bad or anything about her he gets mad at me. You see her husband is not in good health and her husband encourages the too of them. I think that he is setting them up for when he passes away. They had an affair when we were together. When I caught them, and the fact that I was treated like crap I left. I bought myself a house without his knowledge and told him I was leaving. I told him I am leaving as you don’t treat me well. He said it was because I was fat (i am a little overweight). Regardless I told him I have feelings. Long story short I left and I did not take anything from him that wasn’t mine. After 17 years I got nothing, which is my own fault. But i have decided to get a separation agreement and I am going to ask him for money, it is the least he can do as I worked and slaved for that many years. Not only that in 17 years he never once ever cooked for me I did it all. But I can count on my hands how many times he has done it for her. I suppose he finally fell in love for the first time in his life. Anyhow I am still very angry with the ex bff when I should be equally angry with him. But I am getting counselling and reading an assertiveness book to better myself. The only problem is I am still young and do not think I will ever be able to be in a relationship ever again. I am finding it hard to see myself in a relationship with another man. I do not want to be like my mother as she and my dad divorced and she never had a relationship ever again.

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Ash

Reading this brought a few tears to my eyes, but for varied reasons that don’t necessarily get spelled out here. I’ve been with my husband for 7 years, married a little over five, two children under 6, and before I get into what I’m currently being leveled by, I’ll say this – he’s a wonderful father, usually when he’s trying to balance out being sullen and disconnected with being present. Our boys adore him and he is actively a part of the home life – school lunches, dinner and bath times, bed time rituals, he even folds laundry because he knows that it’s the only chore I hate. The sex is by far the best I’ve ever had, and that’s saying something since (I don’t mind admitting this) I wracked up an insane amount of notches on my belt before him. He had done the same, not to the same scale, but enough that I don’t ever feel any judgment from him for it. I’m bisexual, committed to him, but that doesn’t change what I am, and he has always been gracious with me and not jealous or overly curios – he has accepted me – many of these incredible traits are what have endeared me to him. Here’s my issue, and it’s crushing when living with it day and day out: He is the youngest of three boys with a terrible relationship with his horrible d**k father (maybe that plays into this) and his definition of success is ALWAYS financial AND a sense of being better than everyone else, including me. If he doesn’t drink, while he doesn’t lord it over me, there’s an air of “I’m clearly better than you and all the schmucks that drink” If he is drinking, he rationalizes it by “I just can’t care about this right now, I need to relax.” He has actually used this phrase at a low point, though unfortunately I could have called it by his hunched over demeanor: “I have no confidence. I have the confidence of a child raised in a basement.” Hard to hear that from your love when you tell them all the time how valuable and wonderful they are. I am type A, he is type B. I was drawn to his desire to better himself and I believe he was drawn to my fearlessness. I’m not fearless, but I will take risks and put myself out there without a guarantee and he struggles to just communicate his needs. For the first few years, I saw patterns arise that were pigeonholing me into a supportive mother role and once I realized that – you bet your ass I put a stop to it. I know that deep down he wants to be a confident, decisive man and I am a firm believer that crawling into his corner and coddling him, as his mother did, is not the answer. He agreed and since then, I’ve been much more open about what my needs are. Us type A’s do have them. Our communication and sex life are great….until I start to stumble upon things that he writes in countless notebooks and carelessly (I know it’s careless, having been through this with him before) leaves around. They are littered with comparisons, calling our dear friends and even family and sometimes me “terrible people and I am better than all of them. I am great.” What kind of person has to belittle those that love them to feel good about themselves?? He can’t be happy for anyone’s achievements, which causes me to even downplay my own – our friends have even caught on but I’m not sure that his internal self loathing has allowed him to see it. He recently wrote about what gives him confidence, most being the usual for him: working out, being healthy, meditation, stable employment (though he has hated every job he’s had – to the point of being miserable at home – he’s an accountant, and this one: cheating gives you confidence. WHAT. First, I’m not jumping to that having happened, when he’d have time for that would astound me and he is very present, even if it is withdrawn and negatively quiet, in our home. I’m more concerned that this is a thought that triggers some sense of the power that he believes he doesn’t have. He cheated in almost every past relationship and immediately blames “them” for “doing it first.” As though he doesn’t realize that fuck what it says about them, what it says about you is worse. And far more relevant to me and our life. We agreed my role was not to coddle him, he despises that in his mom now and wishes she had taught him to grow a pair sometimes instead of “poor baby”ing him – but then, there’s the blame again. Later on, he waxes poetic and strong about how he never blames anyone for anything. A walking contradiction. Sometimes I think I’m too harsh, so I talk to him about it and try to be softer. I am harsh, I’m the oldest of nine children and my mother was very strong, but I am also tender and I know he would attest to my encouragement. First, it’s not hard when you’re well sexed to be more tender and kind; second, I am honest in my observations of where he excels and so I don’t come across ever as pandering – I know this to be true. I have encouraged him to seek another career, even if it means less money, because I wasn’t raised to believe that living with zero job satisfaction was a good thing. He goes back and forth and at this point, I’m ready to send him salmon fishing in alaska so he can prove to himself that he is what I know him to be: a fucking MAN. I am so sorry for how long winded all of this is, and I’m not sure I’ll get a response, but I had to try. I’m questioning everything over this. It’s up and down, very hot and very cold, and the stability I loved in him has dwindled significantly into this sad, insecure, money driven and money miserable, extra mouth to feed. I work very hard to not be an asshole, I work hard to try and fulfill his needs and affirm his strengths without either exaggerating or ignoring his weaknesses. I am not afraid to ask for what I need and he is willing always to provide it – even just some time away alone, without the boys. He is good to us as a whole, but his greatest fear, as he has told me, is to be useless and/or corrupt. His negative loop is making me nervous and increasingly less attracted to him and I hate it. I want him to be strong. I want him to be the success he wants to be, but I don’t see us being in the same realm if what he considers successful people to be his friends who frequent their strip clubs (another thing I don’t care for, but am not crazy against – he still claims to be uninterested in them, there’s that.) to fulfill this whole in their lives and it’s a place to spend their large amounts of money. That and Vegas and gambling. He is also a heavy reader of the Stoics. See? Walking contradiction. My type B man is dragging me down. How many times can your partner talk about what a loser they are before you end up believing them?

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Amber

I don’t have any advice! I think your feelings are valid! I love how this is written and I can totally relate as I am also type A!

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Unknown

So, I got out of a toxic relationship of 2 years. She stalked me, took pictures next to my suv when is go out with friends. Long story short that finally stopped and I started party mode. Made ALOT of new friends, worked hard and partied harder. I was done looking for love. Stayed single for a year. Then I met her, she was beautiful, had a terrific smile. Actually found out she was the girl who me and my 3 other friends would be staying at while we took a road trip for his 21st birthday. I rode with her we talked about life and OUR goals and hopes and dreams, she was the one. We later all do want out, she went back to her place because we all got plastered. I stayed with her, we didnt inside any intimate contact, just fell aslpee together. The next morning we talked for hours until it was time to go, I got her number and from then on we talked everyday. I went and visited her a few more times, after a fallout with my parents I decided to move in with her. She was finishing up school, I had not really got my life all the way together but I ended up working odd jobs. 4 months in we became pregnant. I had a hard time meeting her parents in the beginning. I felt so scared that I wasn’t going to be able to provide the life our 1st child needed. Long story short, met her family’s everything, moved to her hometown, that’s where she wanted to move to. We moved their her parents and my parents helped us out. I got a job there, worked, went back to school. Every single day became about her and her family. I’m pretty sure we spent more time at her parents than we did in our own home. I understand the value of family but it felt like so much pressure. Then came delivery day, I called into work. Took her to the hospital. Her parents, sister and her sisters boyfriend stayed in the room while she was going through labor and it just felt like all eyes were on us and our special moment. I was right next to her throughout the entire labor, her mom would get up and put herself between me and her and try and take over comforting her. It was an embarrassment to me that I was not the one to give her my full support. After the labor it all changed. Her first birthday had to be with her and her family even though we made our own plans. I was always ambitious and strived to build relationships with people. If it was ANYONE of the opposite sex I was automatically cheating. She had many close guy friends that would constantly tell her how much they loved and missed her and to me that got to me emotionally. Eventually I let it go and if she needed those friendships in her life I understood. After a very toxic night she yelled and hit me I’m front of our then 2 youngest daughters she moved out into her parents home. I got to pick up and visit our daughters nearly every single day. And I had friends and family I made time for outside of seeing the kids. She would drive by our house multiple times, always asking where I was and what I was doing. She even showed up to a bar I went to with old friends one night and started yelling in front of everyone. Eventually she wanted to start seeing me. But it was behind closed doors. She wasn’t being honest with her family that she was seeing me and hanging out with me. We never even discussed what went wrong. One day she told me she was tired of her parents and wanted to move back in. My dad offered for me to come work for him. I took the offer, it was and hour away and back in my hometown. Things were so much better there. But working for my father became too much needed stress. I quit, she took it as my family disowning me. I was upset by it too but I understood what needed to be down. She confronted my mother and yelled at her and things were never the same after that. I’m not perfect, I flirted, I went out with my friends, even when I would ask her. I am and always was a family man. I love our now 3 dughters. But my role and importance in their lives has been diminished. I now sell cars, I love it. She never supported it. It wasn’t good enough. Everything about the relationship has been put on me. She said she regrets me being the father. She has told me everything about her lain is worse than any of the good. I avoided going home and worked more hours because it was always a fight. Even if the laundry hadn’t been done for weeks, even if I told her how beautiful she was each day I was horrible. I wasn’t good enough. Everything was and is my fault. Even after all this anger and hate and resentment towards me I still love her. But now she’s pitted her whole family and all of her friends against me. Blocking me on social media, blocking me from contsct and involvement in our children’s lives. Emotionally I have felt wrecked, even after seeing a therapist and going through men’s coaching. I love her, I do. We had got engaged and started discussing adding plans. She hates me now and I feel like there’s no hope about us every being together again.

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Unknown

And now comes mediation, which she stated she wanted after she left the 2nd time. I have been degraded and put into a corner that I don’t do anything for our kids and I’m no good and I don’t help out with anything for our kids. I got kept away from birthdays, thanksgiving, Christmas. I actually got to finally take them out for Valentine’s day, took them to dinner. Anytime we talk it’s up and down and I never know what I’m going to get. She told me I’m playing the victim, but victim me all over social media. I know my mistakes. I’ve been improving my overall life ever since she left. And I just get told I’m still not good enough.

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Morgan

I am currently in a four year relationship and we have had our ups and downs but whenever we fight we always solve the problem and try to smooth things over before the end of the day. We go to different colleges but normally see each other on weekends. I guess my question is things have been really good but over the last month we’ve done nothing but fight. We both seem to be getting more jealous and fight more often until we are able to meet on weekends and fight through things. However, our tempers seem to be short and we get annoyed by small things that never used to be a problem. Is this toxic? I know it never was before because he’s so kind and we’ve always been very open to each other. After reading this it feels like it is turning into a toxic relationship and I guess my question is can I fix it? Or is this something that can’t be changed? Anytime I say anything about our relationship turning toxic he gets insecure and tells me that it’s not but I think he only says it because he doesn’t want to lose me. I just need some advice.

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Marie

One of the things you have is a deal breaker…physical violence.
I was in a relationship for 5 years, we broke up last year for about 6 months. He briefly dated a woman I know. Then we got back together. We have had lots of arguments and lots of good times in all of the 5 years. In that time we have been engaged twice. So longer story short, we got into an argument about the woman he dated, he said he was sick of arguing about it and called me a F***ing B***h! I slapped him across the face for calling me such a vile name and he swung back and hit me on the side of my neck and jaw. He used to be a sweet chubby nerdy guy, lost a lot of weight, went to counseling after we broke up last year and we had planned a life together. I just don’t know how to move on from this. I fear him hitting me again, yet I take responsibility for hitting first for being called a name that I hate. We have briefly spoken to each other after the incident, we are not together. its been 2 months and he wants to be together, but I have told him that there is no trust there. I am more confused than I have ever been in my life. I mean I always knew for myself that violence was a deal breaker. But now that this has happened I go back and forth every day from one end to the other, of hating him for hitting me to hating myself for hitting first to wondering if this is fixable or should I move forward alone?? I need help

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AJ

I’ve had a terrible day. Travelling for my work, alone. And I am alone at home because my wife ended our marriage a couple of months ago. I go through a feeling of numbness, which is my best time unfortunately, to feelings of despair, confusion, and shame (unfounded). Bawl my eyes out quite often and thoughts of the past can cause tears to well in my eyes very easily. And today I found myself feeling very down.

We were married for 9 years, together for 13. I loved her deeply from very early on. Although there were a few signs of the 15 signs in the article, I fell deeper and deeper. I thought they were just a phase, being young. Many times we broke up, and always because she had jealous and trust issues, always totally unfounded. I tried so hard to convince her but it took me walking away for her to say she didn’t mean it. She’d lavish me with love and sex to get me back and all would be good for months. This went on for a long time. After an extended breakup we got back together and all was good and around a year later we got married. Nine years later, after me giving my life to her it’s over. I was happy to give my life to her, I loved her and still do. I understand I have an unrealistic, fantastic view of romance and love; I expect that someone will give as much as me and everything will work out and we will live happily ever after. That’s something I have to work on and understand my relationship wasn’t special, and neither is it in it’s deceased state.

Reading this article I can tick off every one of the 15 signs. After the day I have had feeling alone and gutted it makes it easier, knowing that I couldn’t have done any more. And it certainly shows I am not alone and deserve more.

Something I don’t know the answer to is are those who open up and bestow their unconditional love on these people all damaged as well, before they even get into these relationships? Will being like this cause my relationships in the future to fail? Or if I met someone the same as me, will that work? If she had been the same as me and put 100% into us like I did would that have been perfect?

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Jason C.

AJ…I’ve been through the wringer more times than I care to relate. I guess part of the answer is you have to take an inward look and decide what type of person you’re drawn to. Is it a giving person? Or do you tend to seek out the “broken ones” trying to fix them? At least half the equation here is knowing how to identify what qualities you want in a partner versus those qualities you’re inadvertently drawn to. Some people curse the heavens about the abusive relationships they find themselves in not realizing they inadvertently seek them out. So my advice is to train yourself to recognize a warm giving type from one that will require you to be in a constant state of anxiety trying to earn their love. Bottom line, love should be freely given and unconditional…if you have to chase it down or beg for it…you’re trying too hard and it’s not meant to be.

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theonlyone

Yes. We all control how we are treated. When you see someone is trying to dominate you simply keep distance. Being alone is really not that bad. There was a time when I thought friends were important but I learned that it is better to be alone than be around opportunist who will definitely look to bring you down because they are unhappy about something in their lives.

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Lily

I like your articles. I find it a bit harsh to call others toxic. Empathy and compassion are the backbone of relationships.

I have a dysfunctional relationship. I admit that partly it is my fault. I cannot call my loved one a toxic person nor can I call myself a toxic person because we are a product of our culture and circumstances.

Ultimately, we are still all needy children at heart forced to fit in a competitive profit driven world.
We all long for unconditional love.
When I get selfish, resentful and pessimistic, I try to see my partner as a child who has to deal with many problems at work and never ending bureaucracy. I don’t expect him to change me and I don’t want to change him.
All I wanted is to have honesty and openness. It is hard to achieve it as an inexperienced young woman because men don’t open up easily.

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Karen - Hey Sigmund

Lily you are right in that empathy and compassion are the backbone of relationships, but the empathy and compassion must come from both people. It is not helpful to judge other people based on your own experiences. No relationship is perfect, and your relationship, though it may have certain challenges, may not be toxic. Toxic relationships are relationships that involve consistent bullying, manipulation, lying, cheating, abuse, control … and the list goes on. All relationships have their faults – none of us are perfect, but when hurtful, destructive behaviour is the norm, and when it damages at least one of the people in it, the relationship is toxic. These relationship are called ‘toxic’, because of the way they contaminate the self-esteem and self-concept of at least one of the people in the relationship. Toxic relationships cause toxic stress which ultimately can change the physiology of the brain and body in harmful ways.

Furthermore, we are not children, we are adults. Yes we all have our vulnerabilities, and we all have our ‘stuff’, but we all have a responsibility to the people we love, and to the people who love us, to be emotionally responsible in our relationships. So many people who are in toxic relationships have open, generous, kind hearts. The problem is not a lack of compassion or a lack of empathy – the problem is the abuse of power, love and manipulation by the toxic person. Toxic relationships are not those relationships where there is the occasional argument, or where there may be patterns of difficult behaviour. Toxic relationships are highly damaging and involve a consistent way of relating that is harmful and damaging to at least one person in the relationship. It is also not at all uncommon for the person who has been hurt by toxic behaviour to continually bend and flex and fight hard to keep trying to make the relationship work. The problem with toxic people, is that the need for control will mean that any amount of compassion, empathy, compromise or change will never be enough.

Toxic behaviour is consistently damaging, and consistently causes pain. Calling it anything other than what it is, only serves to enable the toxic person. (‘It’s not your fault that you lie/cheat/abuse me/manipulate me/turn people against me/abuse me in front of our children/abuse our children/ – and then blame me for all of it.’) Not only is it enabling, but it is also disempowering for the person who has been the target of the behaviour. At some point, compassion and empathy have to give way to clarity, strength and self-love. For others outside the relationship, the person who deserves our compassion, empathy, support and validation is the person who has been the target of the toxic behaviour.

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Jason C

I couldn’t agree more. The natural tendency of an empath is to subordinate one’s own feelings and needs to that of our partners. All well and good until you come across a narcissist or a “toxic” person who will completely drain the empath of all positive energy. The empath will desperately try to understand and measure up to the needs of the toxic person yet…it’s never enough. Always failing, always absorbing both the self-induced guilt as well as that heaped on by the toxic person. It’s a losing proposition but one an empath will choose to continue…always believing that with enough love and understanding they can make a difference. I compare it to a slot machine in Vegas…we keep putting more and more money into it and pulling the lever hoping to win back what we previously invested. It’s far better to acknowledge that the game is rigged and stop playing.
I know it’s hard to walk away…hard to accept that the person we’ve invested so much time in is either unwilling or incapable of reciprocating. Doesn’t make them evil…they’re often wounded too. But don’t fall for the trap of thinking you can heal that wound. This is something they themselves have to figure out and a journey they have to choose to take.

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Mike

How do I start to heal? I’ve been in this for 15 years and have been forced to raise our son because of her legal troubles and prison time. Yet I’ve let her back in over and over again.
I have not loved with her in nearly three years but she knows exactly how to manipulate me into letting her spend the night and even weeks at a time only to end up right back at square one with realizing things will never ever be what I deserve. She is addict and has completely ruined her life and I’ve always been there for her.
I believe I’ve been so damaged by this woman that it’s caused my self esteem and confidence to be completely destroyed and am scared I will never heal. So if there is anyone here who can give me any advice which I’m sure I already know I would greatly appreciate it. I guess sometimes hearing it from others makes it more real in a sense.
I just want to know how to let go, move on and not think about her. My weakness is my lust and sexual desires for her and she knows this using it every time to get back the control. This makes me feel weak and incapable of ever finding anyone who will truly love me for all the man I truly am. I’m lost in my loneliness and have everything. I feel as if I’m past the point of being fixed in my heart and soul. They’ve been smashed with lies, cheating and hurt from this woman.

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Jason C.

Mike, having “been there and done that” in some sense…my advice is acknowledge that the person you visualize in this woman doesn’t exist. You’ve built her up into some “damsel in distress” that you think only you can save…if you but hold out a little longer or be some kind of anchor she can rely on. Get that out of your head. She’s blatantly using you (as you yourself said…she knows how to manipulate you) so right off the bat you know that any connection you have with her is based on a lie. Its’ not your fault she’s an addict. It’s not your fault that she’s “off the chain” in terms of upholding her responsibility as a parent. You don’t owe it to her to keep on giving her ten, twelve, twenty chances to reform. You owe it to your daughter and yourself to look to the future. You deserve better. And as long as your tangled up with miss “hot mess” miss right is going to keep right on avoiding the train wreck.

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Jason C

Mike,

From my perspective of having “been there…done that” in terms of holding onto a toxic relationship, I would add the following comments. First off, you have to shake the illusion that if you hold out a little longer that your “damsel in distress” will turn things around. She won’t. You have stated yourself that she is a master at manipulating your vulnerabilities and appealing to your largesse. She’s using you and you know it…she doesn’t love you, she doesn’t appear to love her daughter…this is all about her and her addiction. So quit trying to save her. The person you have built her up to be in your mind simply doesn’t exist. Instead, you face a “stranger” who will continue to use and abuse you as long as you allow it. If she hasn’t changed in 15 years…she ain’t gonna.

Secondly, you have to establish some boundaries. Stop taking her calls…stop answering her emails. You can’t keep her from her daughter (without a court order)…but that doesn’t mean you have to entertain her drama.

Lastly, any decent woman that you may have otherwise had a shot with is going to take one look at this train wreck and keep on walking by. Don’t let “Miss hot mess” ruin your chances of finding “Miss Right.” You owe it to yourself and your daughter to get off the crazy train.

-Jason

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Mike

Thank you Jason. I appreciate you taking g the time to respond. I’m struggling to find this strength to just let go of this woman. She is truly as toxic as anyone can be. The last time I slept with her over a month ago I had nightmares of the devil or demons?? She was sleeping next to me that night. I guess my own spirit is trying to tell me this evil person is next to me?
It’s hard to believe when you say she doesn’t love me. I want to believe she does care about me but that she just doesn’t love herself at all to make any changes to better her life then to make ours better as a family. But like you said, if she hadn’t done it by now she never will. What’s hard for me to understand is how a 45 year old woman who can have everything with an awesome man and her awesome son is still so stuck and chooses to have nothing but herself and her selfishness. She’s lost everything!?? I’ve known that she can’t give me what I deserve for a very long time and have let her sexually manipulate me as you’ve read but I crave so much more than that and have told her. I tell her she need to be more available to me and her son emotionally and attentive to both of our needs from her not just an hour here and an hour there. She just doesn’t understand or know how too do that. She’s stuck and I know I can’t save her.
I’m trying to move on and enjoy all I’ve accomplished and have made for myself and my son. I know what I need to do I just hope I have the strength and confidence still left in me to do this.

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Jason C

Check, check AND check…been there and done that. Took me a long time to look around and realize just how mired I was in a toxic relationship. Got out…but still smarting from the wounds.

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haddy

hi I’ve been dating this very close friend of mine for only a week and things are too intense already am constantly sad I feel like he doesn’t care enough about me and I regret why I even said yes in the first place but I don’t know how to end it without ruining our friendship completely as well

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Anita

Thank you, I’m freshly divorced and my ex tried to cheat on me and was an alcoholic but that isn’t my actual problem. I met this very nice man on the internet. he was perfect. everything just klick in so quick. he showered me with compliments. after just one month he gave me the key to his house but also he started to stay in my place, I’m very nice and open and I was never saying..listen I need some time to myself. I have big house he was in guest bedroom and he live 4 hours away from me so no problem till he started to be moody …and he admit he is sleeping with his ex-girlfriend back home and he has some other girl he “meets” with sometimes but this is not love and he plans to go “mono” with me…all his partners are poly and he is actually poly too ?!!!. I freaked out and I broke up with him…one..two times, he cried, he told me he loved me, he said its too soon for me to be in an exclusive relationship…i agreed, and he needs more time to end everything with other people! but in meantime he changed his work schedule to spend more time with me…he bcc me on the email with his supervisor where he mentioned his schedule change and asked me then …I hope that’s OK. I was flatter but shock! then he started to get more and more involved with my toddler…and he started to use the word “we” but he still was meeting with other women, although I officially wasn’t informed about his whereabouts while not with me…on the end I broke with him…he cried when I agree to stay again he introduced me to all his friends! I broke up again via text …I know how bad is that. his last texts are: “Goodnight…! I’m thinking about you. Nothing will take me away from you but you!:)” and then I told him I will block his phone# because I’m hurting myself and I’m hurting him with this crazy drama. he wrote this: “I’m sorry you’re hurting. I know it’s true. But I never hurt you. I was always very good to you….your pain is not my fault, even if I wish I could stop it. I’m so sorry you’re hurting. :(” I didn’t respond to it…also when he wrote all those texts I knew he was spending time with one of his poly partners…my friends…all hated him…he told me my friends and my ex. ruined our relationship, and my friends are not my real friends because he is making me happy and cares for me and they want him gone from my life…I’m so confused, I so don’t trust him, I’m so very hurt…I literally don’t want to go out anymore and meet anybody…I’m scared of this post-divorce world and he damage me even further

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kev

I went back into a toxic relationship everything that was mentioned happened and this time is over for real I deserve better too nice allowing people to use me no more i’m nearly 40 so its time i meet someone who really appreciates me give and take before it was all give and nothing in return thank you for this eye opener. great site.

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Unknown

Wow, this article brought tears to my eyes!! This is me, this is my story, you hit it on the nose. I read something that was so true the other day; we seek advice form others to look for the answers that we already know but do not want to see or hear. I have been reading your articles and done just that, I got the answers I did not want to hear. Sadly I am in a toxic relationship and have been for the past 24 years. I have lost myself and in return have become just as toxic as he is to me. It is a vicious cycle with no end. It is a cat and mouse chase that becomes a mouse and cat chase. I have the knowledge, all the knowledge, I am an MFT and have refused to look at the symptoms of my own marriage. And whats even more frustrating is that I blinded myself from the toxins and became paralyzed. I am like a doctor, I can treat everyone else but myself? Reading this article brought me to tears, because I failed to see this and raised 2 beautiful daughters in the chaos because I didn’t want them to be brought up in a broken home. I have counseled numerous of children form broken homes and never wanted that for my own, but in reality they were raised in a broken and toxic home. Thank you for shedding the light to my darkness, thank you for confirming the answers to my questions that I never wanted to answer myself. For the first time in a long time I have stepped outside of me and seen me. Thank You!!

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Ross

Karen,
I want to thank you for this site. Margaret has a point and I applaud her for reaching this goal.
As a male in my sixties and married the second time for 35 years most of us do not have the luck of Margaret. I tried 4 counselors with her and left twice only to be manipulated back with my wife’s ability to charm. This last year I became stronger standing my ground and she is now walking on eggshells and being nice. The sad part is I must play this game to stay in control and it is exhausting. Let my guard down and I am insulted and “commanded” to “make her feel like a woman”. If I really loved her I would know exactly what she wants. Oh, I can bring out the worst in her by relaxing my hold.
This is still toxic and now I am the manipulator. So, now I am the toxic manipulator and although I can keep things together I have decided to leave. Controlling in any form is not love.
It is hard. I have daily doubts. I won’t miss it, I am just use to it. There is a difference and after more than a year of reading and finding sites such as yours I found strength to keep moving forward.
Thank you.

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Tracey

It sounds like your wife was a narcissist Ross, look into that and see if that helps to explain her behavior.

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Ginger

How about when you find yourself in one toxic relationship after another? Like you are doomed to make friends who end up being toxic with/to you? … I have been forced to examine myself as a result of the repetitiveness of the trend but sincerely, this is me; I walk on eggshells to avoid hurting people’s feeling. I couldn’t dare to be rude to a remote person I don’t particularly like, how much less daring to a friend. I have had people tell me I am soo quiet and reserved … and too ‘nice’ … why then do people I consider friends end up giving me the toxic treatment ? It’s so consistent, it’s scary.

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Hey Sigmund

Toxic people are drawn to people with warm, generous, open hearts. Are you deliberate about who you allow to be close to you? Or is it more a passive process where they are drawn to you and you let them close. Do you listen to the early feelings you have about people? Your intuition in these situations is so important. Intuition is the collection of memories, knowledge, wisdom, etc that sits just below the surface of your consciousness. It is based on real information, but generally the information is just out of your awareness.

If you feel as though you are the one who deliberately chooses these people, what is it that draws you to them? Who do do they remind you of? Your mother? Father? Exes? Siblings? When people are drawn to the same people, it is often a sign of unfinished business. Let me explain. We humans have a pressing and intense need for closure. If there has been a relationship that wasn’t able to give you something important you needed, you may look to fulfil this need through other people. Often peole aren’t aware of this process happening, but the way it plays out is that you are drawn to people who remind you of the original person (the one who left an imporatnt need unmet), in the hope of getting what you need from them. So as an example, let’s say that you never feel the protective love you always wanted to feel from your father. He may have been inattentive, angry, indifferent, distracted – whatever he was, he didn’t notice you the way you wanted to be. Because this need is such an important one, you will continue to look to have it met. (Remember, this happens out of awareness.) You might find yourself being drawn to people who remind you of him, and then look to them for that protective love.

What generally happens is that if you are drawn to people who are similar in some way to the person who weren’t able to meet your important need, these new people will treat you in the same way and your need will remain unmet – so you look to the next person.

Of course, it might be something completely different to either of these possibilities that sees you being drawn to the wrong people. Have a think about what draws you to these people, what keeps you in the relationship and where you would like your boundaries to be.

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Theonlyone

The key is understaning that you 1) do not always have to be the nice guy and 2) You can be very happy by yourself.

Once you understand those two things you end up attracting the right people for business and social.

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Ginger

You are quite right there Theonlyone. Because I am reserved by nature, I don’t make friends very easily and I sort of eagerly go all out to please whoever shows interest in being a friend … sometimes, even when their faults is staring me right in the face … and that’s where Karen’s point on ‘intuition’ is soo true. Truth is, I have very good intuition but my biggest fear really is how far can I lean on intuition when there is d risk of having no friends at all? Afterall, no one is perfect, right?

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Ginger

Karen, I have my intuitions and they are usually frightenly true … at least it turns out to be true. I tell myself that since no one is perfect, why should I expect my friends to be? It’s like asking for too much. Sadly, I only get to answer that question myself when the damage has gone too far.
I made a friend 15 years ago and she was practically my best friend for the first 8 years. She had her moments of irrational outbursts every now and then … and demonstrated moments of intense immaturity… But there was no major toxicity at the time, to make me flee. Truth is she was quite caring on her flip side and I believe, even till now, that she truly appreciated me as a friend then. Then sometime in the 8th year of our friendship, she introduced me to her brother who came home on a visit from the states… and before long …and with her encouragement…. he and I started dating.
And that was when things started getting weird.
Now, just around this time, she had just come out of a broken relationship herself, so I tried all I could to encourage her and support her through it … though in earnest, I never got d feeling she was really into the guy and she admitted this several times herself… even before her relationship ended.
Anyways back to my relationship with her brother … she lured me on until we actually started dating and we officially became an item. Then she got all weird and started with being passively aggressive … saying the most hurtful things that I wouldn’t even know how to begin to react to, let alone respond. Then she became aggressively aggressive. She would reign all manner of negative comments, fault finding and accusations at me, as an opening statement when I call her on the phone. Once when I travelled to the states on a Christmas visit to her brothers, he gave me an engagement ring. I came back home naively excitedly sharing my joy with her … she put on a front… but that nagging intuition told me things were not necessarily as they seem. Her rudeness and weird behavior persisted in days that followed.
As it just so happened, her brother was quite the indecisive himself and I was increasingly getting uncomfortable with the whole arrangement… her behaviour not helping matters. The next trip I made to states proved my worries, he wasn’t all that into me, and since I could tell he wouldn’t come all out to say it, I gave him the ring back on our last morning together, with as much sensitivity as I could muster, because I was really hurting. I told that I would be waiting, if he ever changed his mind.
I got back home and went to my friends place with a gift for her but on my arrival, when I went to her place to give it to her, she told me with much bitterness to take my gift away, she didn’t want it. Here I was hurting and needing a shoulder to cry on but her reaction was soo toxic … I could taste it. I was so dissappointed, I turned around to leave and then she called me back and mumbled something which was like her own way of apologizing but really wasn’t (she never apologizes by the way… even when confronted) … then I told her what happened between her brother and I. She pretended she was hearing it for the first time and reprimanded me, like one would a child, saying I should never have given him the ring back … I should have held on …bla bla bla. …. it was all hogwash … but I had stopped being surprised by her.
Just when I thought nothing she did or said could ever surprise me, she did shock me one day by telling me that her brother said to tell me that it’s over. He didn’t deem it fit to call me himself to explain, after about 18 months relationship … worse still is that she didn’t deem it fit to leave him to speak for himself.
This is by far the most toxic relationship I ever had with a female friend and all the more saddest, because I still believe we once had a true friendship…. before her brother came between our relationship.
The weirdest part is..now, about 5 years after this incident and us going our separate ways… she is still passively aggressive towards me.
She got married about a year after I broke up with her brother… and as an afterthought, sheepishly asked me if I would join her bridal train, I respectfully declined….. but in memory of the friendship we once had, I attended her wedding but severed relationship with her afterwards. Now 5 years on … we work in the same office now…. but she is still passively aggressive to me. I do everything possible to not get burnt by her toxicity. … including keeping a very healthy distance …. though it’s hard for me, as it’s not in my nature … but I feel she’s left me with no choice at all.

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juanitajuniper

I would get a new job. People do change OR what happens is they become who they really ARE eventually, not who they seemed to be in the beginning of a relationship, when theyr’e on their best behavior. Your girlfriend of many years could have narcissistic personality disorder or something similar so that it’s really impossible to have a normal, nice, reciprocal relationship with her. It’s not you. But really, look into getting out of that office.

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theonlyone

What I would say is that what happens is that some people are raised to be a bit idealistic about relationships. Unfortunately, the real world is not fair and people can be vicious. Nice guys do finish last. That is the sad truth of the matter.

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Michelle F.

I think I was in a toxic relationship and even now it feels weird to say this because he was such a nice guy but you know I still broke up with him because he was not nice.
I’m probably not making any sense.
I broke up with him after going to revival service at church and it struck me that he didn’t believe in God and then he admitted it but the way he admitted it was like he told me all along and I was too stupid to hear or understand or something.
I’m not a pretend-face kind of Christian, and I still don’t like being called one because most of them are the pretend-face kind. However the fact that he didn’t believe in God in any way (one of my exes was Hindu, I was find with his faith but the age thing I draw a line at) really bothered me.
Some other things had bothered me before but I just told myself that love means compromise and everything can’t be perfect.
For example, when we argued he could always do this thing like, ‘Oh calm down honey, don’t stress yourself’ and it wasn’t as if I was getting worked up about something external but about something that he did that I wanted to point out and he was just ignoring it and it was pissing me off and rather than argue he did that, he’d say that to me.
Another example, we were both unemployed at the time. I was actively seeking work and he was more like, ‘It’ll happen when it’s supposed to’ like he didn’t care and that would start an argument and he’d give his dumb response about me not stressing myself out … AHHH!!!
Maybe I just can’t compromise, so I decided that being single is better. I decided this because I think that I may have been the toxic one.

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Hey Sigmund

Michelle this sounds like a relationship where perhaps the combination of you both was more an issue than the type of people you are individually. It’s difficult to know from what you have said, but sometimes it’s the combination of two people that doesn’t work, though it doesn’t mean either one is toxic. With every experience and relationship you learn more about what is right for you and what doesn’t work. no experience is wasted.

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Desmene

This is so spot-on. I’ve been grieving what I thought was a reconnection with a soul friend from 30 yrs. ago, only to find out that she was just using me as a service provider and energy source for her many projects. I had some hard, hard work to do to recognize how I had really ignored so many signals, all in the hope of being loved and affirmed. Ouch. Feeling the old shame of unworthiness just gutted me, but columns like this one helped me see that, while I certainly bore responsibility for not really listening to my intuition and keeping myself and my energy safe, I am a beautiful, whole person, deserving of truly supportive, respectful friends. Long process, and still ongoing, but my primary focus right now is growing love and trust in dialog with my Inner Self. Thank you so much for your offerings here!

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Margaret

Leaving is NOT the only solution. I used to be in that relationship! After and during counseling, I’ve learned to dig my heels in, stand my ground, get in my husband’s face and drill it into his head that “we are a team! I am not the enemy!” Even if you leave, you are going to have to learn to set FIRM BOUNDARIES on how you expect to be treated, so what is there to lose by starting now, with your husband? Married 39 years, the first 30 were miserable, got counseling, and the past 9 years have been better to great! Every couple goes through that euphoric stage, to seeing each other’s flaws, to hating them, to accepting them as they truly are, to loving them, faults and all.
A lot of my time was wasted by not standing firm in what I expected in our marriage.
Leaving a relationship isn’t always the answer!

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Pam

I don’t want to start something here, but just listen to yourself, you suffered for 30 years? and the last ten have been almost great? That is not how we are suppose to live, not ever. We were not put on this earth to be miserable for 30 years and there is no way you will ever convince me that this man has any respect for you. And I don’t accept that every couple goes through that hate, that’s someone trhing desperately to convince herself that her marriage is the norm. NO IT ISN”T.And if every time he starts his game you have to “get right up in his face” and convince him you aren’t his enemy, what tell me is in the least bit joyful or great in that feeling? If it is God you are worried about displeasing, My God, loves me, I am his child, and he does not even wish me to stay in misery to please him, he wants me to be the best I can be and he wants me to help out and do what I can to ease suffering of his other children. That marriage is not one that he would approve of, he wants us to grow and live and love not suffer and plead and demand. You can’t convince me to accept that ever. But I really wish for you to find your peace where you see fit, and I wish you only the best.

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Lisa Lisa

We all might not get the chance to live that long. If i only got 50 years on this planet, it means i will die miserably if i want to stay in a 30year old miserable marriage. If i got 60 years on this planet, it means i spent a good amount of my life miserable because i got marry to the wrong person, terrible advice…..

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Linda M

I gave my all to my manfriend he ony took from me food and drink week in and week out .He asked me to marry 2 months ago . Wow he dumped me and told me to get out and take my clothes. Luckily I had my home to go back to. He was full of what he can get I found out from other people he was always a scrounger! I am senior years and had a good husband who passed away who would never have done anything like this think I must have been i nfatuated by attention. His benefits apparently were more important to him if he had me on a permanent basis these would have changed. He used me for a time and it hurts. Please anyone be careful of these kind of people.

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Nikara

Pam, I completely agree with you!
I’m astonished and at the same time in denial sometimes witnessing how many people settle to live a miserable life their whole existence! And those are the same ones who refuse to agree with you if you are living a happy and healthier life than theirs. Misery is the norm to them. SMH!

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Desmene

Amazing… Fits a current situation of mine to a “T.” And I’d just been contemplating apologizing for distancing, but this stopped me in my tracks. I can see that my fantasies of reconciliation are likely just that– fantasies that could yield some small initial result, but that would dissolve over time, taking us right back to the kind of interactions that led to the split to begin with. Too many matched perfectly with the examples you gave above.

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Hey Sigmund

Desmene you sound so clear. It’s worrying isn’t it that there are so many signs. It sounds like the wisdom was in you all along.

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Truth

I deal with people who get stuck in these relationships and they do not realize that they have options. In this day and age is so easy to meet new people thanks to the internet. One should never feel locked into a relationship. Even if people stay in a relationship for the kids, build other professional and social relationships outside of that.

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Confused

When I was 22, I got involved with a man 17 years my senior.

The relationship was intense and passionate. I knew that he was serious about our relationship, but I had a nagging feeling of insecurity because he was married before – divorced for 7 years. Also because he was so successful in his career, and I was just a young lady starting my first job.

Out of my insecurity, I did things to intentionally push him away – said hurtful things and flirted with other men. We had plenty of arguments because of my insecurity.

Somehow or rather, our relationship lasted for 2 years, but we fought every other week. Every time we fought, he would say things like “Why don’t you just go fuck someone else. It’s what you always wanted,” or things like “How can you say you love me when you…” And he would list out all the mistakes I did wrong.

I was always apologetic, tried to explain that I love him but was always very insecure. I made those mistakes out of fear, but he would always claim that I just used him and treated the relationship like a game/experiment.

It has been over one year since our relationship ended, but every other month he would text things like “How can you do this to me?” Or ask me about things that I said during the relationship – why did I say this, why did I say that.

Whenever I reply to him, he would ignore my messages. When I tried to put a stop to the messaging, he would say that it’s obvious that I don’t care about him.

At the end of the day, I would always tell him that the relationship meant a lot to me and I’m sorry for everything. Inevitably, he would claim “You are a bad person who just uses people. You never cared about me.”

He would tell me that I destroyed the relationship. He did nothing but showed me love and care, but I threw it all away. It’s too late to say anything now.

I feel so affected by this, because I’ve been trying so hard to salvage this relationship. Not to reconcile, but I fought so hard for his forgiveness. No matter what I say seems to make sense to him.

What I’m also affected about is that he says that I’m still holding onto him and preventing him from living his life. He even claimed that I was stalking him. Yet, he is the one initiating all these texts.

Is it really true that I’m a bad person? Am I really the crazy one who’s holding onto the relationship? Did I really destroy the relationship on my own?

Everyone says to block his number or ignore him, but I can’t bear to because I sincerely hoped that he could forgive me and we could work the relationship out again.

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Pam

Hi Confused, I just can’t pass this up. You do not have to have his forgiveness. You did nothing wrong but want to be loved and to give love. You said it yourself, he claims you are stalking him yet he is initiating the contact. You said that. No, you are not a bad person, he is. And I am living proof that you will never be forgiven by this person because besides the fact it’s not you that needs it, but these people are not capable of empathy, or they will never share it with us. I don’t like doing this to you, but you cannot fix this, he wants you to be helpless, he wants you to feel hopeless and he wants you to feel crazy. This man does not love you. This man DOES not love you because he is not capable of love. He needs you only to take you apart piece by piece until there is nothing left for him, and then he will toss you to the side and you will never be given a reason, he will take no blame and he will probably not leave you alone because negative emotion from you is just as good if not better than the positive. Does he tend to have a pattern with his anger? Maybe you can try to notice these things now. He will be almost nice for a while giving you hope that this time it will be better, and he may even do nice things for you, but when you start to feel like it just might work, BAMMO, he nails you to the wall with some ridiculous accusation that you know is just either so ridiculous or so impossible, and there you are, trying with all the sense you have in you to explain that no, that isn’t me. And you will stand on your head trying to explain to him what really happened, but then he changes the subject and you find you are defending yourself for something that happened five years ago. And when he finally gets you tied up in knots and in tears and almost crawling on the floor trying to make him happy, he walks out the door and you get a nice lively dose of that oh so painful, silent treatment. And who knows now if he will come back, or who will he run to, and when you are just about at the end of your rope, there he is. And he walks in like nothing ever happened. And you are so damn grateful and relieved that he is home and he is safe, that you let it go. And then it starts all over again. Have I hit on any truths there for you? He does not love you, love does not feel so horrible. Love should not hurt so badly that you start to doubt your sanity. And it’s time for you to save yourself and find a way out of this relationship Sweet Person. Because it has nowhere to go but downhill now. It sounds like he has already discarded you, threw you in the trash and takes not one bit of the blame on himself. He is already looking for a fresh victim and is just going to finish using you up while he looks. If he hasn’t already it won’t be long. I”ve been there, and in many ways I am still there. Today is the day I declare my freedom though. He is out of my home, we are now divorced, and he almost has all of his stuff gone. What is left now he can come get escorted by the police only. He has dragged this out for four months, and Yesterday was the last time. No more chances. I still all of this time tried to be nice to him, to be fair and I told him he was forgiven, but he didn’t ask me. He doesn’t think there is anything to forgive. And I PROMISE, he will never forgive you nor will you ever be given any kind of closure. But I also promise that you can heal, from this and even start to feel some hope, trust is barely starting to happen with me, but very little and I guard it with my life. But I have a glimmer now. And today I am officially free, because I’m learning how to stop his triggering me by being willing to lose anything to be away. He can’t hurt me if I don’t need anything. And he can’t hurt me unless I let him. And Karen, remember those months ago you said I would become stronger? I said I would be superwoman! WELL HERE I AM! Yahoooooooooooootie, I am free. He cannot define who I am, no one can do that but me. And I have taken yet another stand in my pursuit for freedom and it is worth more than anything else to me right now. OH, and you know what else? You know that pain you get everytime you think of him, and you remember him how it was at first? Your heart breaks all over again? You will get to a point when you realize that person you fell so hard for is not real. The real one is the one that can look at you while you are crying your heart out, and you feel that you might just die from the pain,, you will see in his eyes only the disgust he feels for you and your weakness. And he will leave you there on the ground so broken you first think you will die, then you begin to welcome it, and walk away from you without looking back. You are no longer even fuel for his sickness.
I don’t have that pain now. I don’t miss him either. I’m glad its over. Thank You God for letting me out of that sick living. And for the chance now I have to find myself again. And for all that has come in between. Amen and hallelujah.

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Rich

How about still being beaten up for something 20 & 30 years ago. It’s painful, but laughable at the same time.

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Amy

Beautifil!! Well said!!! I’m in that nightmare now and needed to hear that right at this time!!! God bless you and your strength to share and help others!!!

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Stephanie

Thank you!! You summed up my experience and the tricky thing is I never knew… I really believed it was me. I really believed it was me. He kept it together for 2 years. I didn’t see the signs. But these last few months have knocked me on my ass and in it I found God. Thank God that I did because this one was tricky. He was disguised… but it doesn’t change His response to me. , which is all that you wrote. I feel like I cheated on him based on how he’s treated me but he hasn’t. I’m okay with him winning this battle. But I’m winning the war by getting my son and I out. Make this my promise. I will never be in this situation again. Thank you for everyone’s posts.

Sincerely,
Me, genuine, empath that is not above the predators. They can be really tricky.

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Andriana v

Wow😔😔😔😔 I am now going through the same exact pattern with my soon to be ex husband of 10 years and the pain is so unbearable 😔😔😔 please help

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Lenny

Often, we seek relationships that support our opinions. Why do people manipulate others? Is it because they are idiots? Is it because they need to feel powerful? Our life experiences have confused our insecurity, uncertainty and anxiety in our previous relationships of passion.
Dane Se- he had a beautiful relationship that lasted several years, now he was with me, I should turn the game all different to receive this love with open arms and live! Without worrying about anything else, I would try to live this love, that moment until it lasted …

Instead, we fall in love with someone emotionally unavailable. Someone who leaves us uncertain. Someone who pulls us away when we need closeness. Someone who implements a “no contact” rule for a week or months. Someone who treats us as our needs does not matter.If you feel guilty asking for forgiveness, who knows, he will forgive you if he really loves you, live to enjoy that love, since our heart always deceives us, you must do everything possible to save this love, if he loves me you understand your attitudes, your reasons, “doubts, fear insecurity”, this is normal, fear to be happy is normal, something you have never felt, he will certainly forgive her, tell him that you need to be sure of your feelings . No one gives love to another of the same measure, each has its own meaning, love had the answer “yes”, he will know to expect to live this love by his side, the love you feel is stronger than you.

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