Your mental health should be a priority to you. To maintain good mental health, it is important to be aware of what can negatively impact it. It’s not surprising that our human relationships are linked to our happiness and mental well-being since we, as humans, are social creatures.
This research discovered that the overall quality of social connections is a significant risk factor for major depression. As a result, flawed individuals and relationships are among the most common things that can harm your mental health.
What is the meaning of a poisonous thing or individual? A toxic person or relationship is considered one that makes you feel unsupported, misunderstood, demeaned, or assaulted.
A toxic individual or relationship will make you feel generally worse about yourself. A healthy relationship, however, will make you feel better, more confident, and happier.
Toxic people can leave you feeling down, can suck the energy right out of you, and can even mess with your ability to create new bonds long-term.
But how can you tell if you’re in a harmful relationship? The most prominent indicators are verbal abuse, physical aggression, resistance to establishing boundaries, emotional maltreatment, and lack of support. However, there might be other subtle signals.
For example, negative relationships will likely make you feel like you’re in a constant state of stress. You might feel as if you are walking on eggshells whenever you are with a toxic person. Being in such a relationship is not fun because your energy is being zapped rather than refueled.
How Toxic Relationships Affect Mental Health
Because we’ve all had a bad relationship (or 10) in the past, today, we’re going deep into how toxic relationships affect mental health. We’ll also provide you with pointers on how to cope with these negative interactions moving forward.
Toxic relationships can isolate you from other more empowering & supportive relationships
When you’re in a negative environment all the time, suffering from stress and emotional abuse, you may build a wall between yourself and others. Sometimes you’re caught up in the toxic relationship drama, too upset to spend time with people, or just tired and not up to it.
Toxic connections take up a lot of mental real estate, which is a precious commodity. If you feel bad, you won’t be able to preserve and develop your present connections. This isolation only makes things worse by making matters worse. More anxiety and loneliness will result from disconnecting from others.
Negativity becomes part of your everyday life
Toxicity creates a negative spiral in your thoughts. You’re constantly carrying the burden of poisonous connections with you. It’s hard to shake that negative energy off and have an effect on your mood for the rest of the day.
When feeling down, taking an opposing viewpoint of the world is easy. You’re also putting yourself in harm’s way by subjecting yourself to continual severe headspace stress.
You may experience lower self-esteem
A toxic person may make you, your actions, and your feelings seem inadequate regularly. You may soon begin to put yourself down as well. When people treat you poorly, it damages your self-esteem. And when you think you are starting to feel better about yourself again, he or she does something else to make you doubt everything all over again!
It’s critical to develop and safeguard inner strength. If harmful relationships jeopardize your internal power and safety, it’s time to cut ties with them.
Simple methods to disarm those annoying narcissists in your life
Learn the covert ways they attack you and why they use them
These methods are powerful and let you put them in their place
Written by someone who grew up with a narcissistic parent
Negative relationships can lead to or worsen anxiety and stress disorders
Toxic relationships strain our mental health, causing anxiety and stressing us out. This study found that people in healthy relationships have less anxiety and stress disorders.
Identifying the early signals and symptoms of anxiety and stress-related toxic relationships is critical.
You neglect self-care practices
Toxicity and negativity are destructive cycles. Negative emotions can ruin your good habits. If you feel bad because of someone toxic, you might stop caring for yourself properly.
When neglected, your self-care routine can fall by the wayside. This includes poor sleep habits, irregular or non-existent workout schedules, and, let’s be honest – not showering for days on end. We’ve all been there (I’m looking at you, girl eating ice cream in yesterday’s sweatpants post-break-up). But many of us don’t realize that proper sleep, exercise, and diet directly impact our mental health and well-being.
When contending with tumultuous relationships or emotional abuse, knowing how to comfort and take care of yourself is essential.
Being in constant fight-or-flight mode can trigger health conditions
Not only can toxic relationships take a toll on your mental health, but they can also jeopardize your physical well-being. Experts have found that these relationships often lead to heart problems, high blood pressure and sugar levels, and a weakened immune system.
It’s due to the chronic stress your body is under while in fight-or-flight mode, which toxic individuals can frequently elicit.
How to Handle Toxic Relationships
Accept the situation and seek help
To begin, practice self-awareness and discernment. What are the indicators you’re in a toxic relationship? How does your toxic mate make you feel? Is there an opportunity for your behavior to also become part of a harmful pattern? These are the things you should ask yourself before fully accepting the situation.
When you realize you are caught in a bad relationship, it’s time to seek assistance. Begin by seeking assistance from your family members, friends, and confidants. Consider also visiting therapy for guidance on dealing with the trauma and emotional abuse you experienced.
Tell the other party in the toxic relationship how you feel
If a relationship becomes toxic, speak up with your partner immediately. This is the only method to resolve things! Respectfully and calmly, state what actions are hurting you. Don’t insult the other person.
You’re not trying to get caught up in a destructive dynamic; you’re attempting to reverse poisonous relationships. If your current partner is toxic, consider getting couples therapy. Analyze the situation and take action as required.
Set boundaries. Both for toxic people and yourself
Establishing boundaries with a toxic person means you essentially say their behavior is unacceptable. This sets the stage for mutual respect and honest communication by setting strict limits.
Distinguish between what you will accept and what will not allow you to pass. But also establish limits for yourself. If you’ve decided not to have any more contact with a toxic individual, keep your boundaries in mind, and don’t be tempted to resume your relationship with them.
Forgive, learn, & grow
Forgiving people is hard, but holding a grudge will only make you feel worse. If you allow hate and resentment to take over, it will make you bitter. The best thing to do is let go of that toxic person and move on with your life.
If you’re still holding onto pain from the past, it’s time to make amends. Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting what happened; instead, it’s about acknowledging the hurt and using it as a learning opportunity for how future relationships can be healthy.
Look for stress reduction practices
Dealing with negative people can negatively affect your state of mind, so it’s key to have a relaxing self-care routine that helps reduce stress. We recommend meditation, yoga, taking long baths, writing in a gratitude journal, breathing work, any type of exercise, and listening to mental health podcasts.
Be ready to walk away from the situation
There will be times when we try everything we can, but it’s just not enough. In these moments, we must accept that continuing to fight would be pointless and find a way out instead. Though it might make us feel guilty, breaking free from a harmful relationship is always the best decision in the long run. Things will only get better from there!
What are some of your tips for dealing with toxic people?
After reading this, we hope you remember a few things. First and foremost is the importance of looking out for yourself and your energies. Hopefully, you also picked up on some tips regarding negative relationships- identifying one and the warning signs that someone might be toxic.
Are you currently in a toxic connection? How did you react to the problem? Please share any previous situations with us in the comments below. We wish you good health and happiness.
Simple methods to disarm those annoying narcissists in your life
Learn the covert ways they attack you and why they use them
These methods are powerful and let you put them in their place
Written by someone who grew up with a narcissistic parent
