Are you in a toxic relationship?

There are seven indications that this is the case

Created: 07/26/2022, 12:51 p.m

By: Juliane Gutmann

Fulfilled relationships - whether with partner, family or friends - give strength.

But there are also people who are not good for you.

Then psychologists speak of toxic relationships.

Something poisonous has a toxic effect on the body.

Interpersonal relationships can also have this effect on you.

Namely when the company is not good for a person, but on the contrary is mentally stressful or even makes you ill.

Then there is talk of toxic relationships.

"Toxic relationships are essentially dysfunctional relationships," says couple therapist Andreas Kirsche from Hamburg, quoted by the German press agency dpa.

As a rule, they would function according to a pattern: the needs of one partner are in the foreground and are demanded dominantly.

The other partner has the task of fulfilling these needs, according to the dpa.

In an interview with Südwestrundfunk (SWR), relationship expert Susanne Kraft explained that a toxic partner often reacts with criticism, blame and disparagement.

A great need for dominance, power and control would be typical of a toxic partner.

A relationship of dependency can also often be observed, Kraft continues.

The “victims” of the dominant partner often have great problems breaking out of the unhealthy relationship.

But how do I know if I'm stuck in a toxic relationship?

Toxic relationships can not only make you mentally ill, but also physically.

© Imago

8 Signs You're Into a Toxic Relationship

There are a number of signs that indicate a toxic relationship between two people.

Couple therapist and author Christian Hemschemeier names seven typical behavior patterns in an interview with SWR:

• The partner rushes head over heels into the relationship

  : the sentence "I love you" is often heard after just a few days.

  Even marriage plans are made shortly after getting to know each other.

• Closeness and cold often alternate abruptly

  : A toxic relationship is characterized by ups and downs.

  "It's like a roller coaster.

  And the beautiful moments are becoming fewer and fewer,” says Hemschemeier.

• The partner unsettles and manipulates

  : "The toxic partner lies and twists reality so much that you doubt yourself more and more and at some point you no longer know what is true and what is false," says Christian Hemschemeier in the SWR interview.

  Psychologists speak of “gaslighting” in this case.

  This term stands for psychological abuse, which is also accompanied by manipulation.

• You can't please your partner

  : If your partner/your platonic "friend" constantly criticizes you, even for small things, this indicates an unhealthy relationship that is not good for you.

• It's always your fault

  : your counterpart always gives you the buck and never sees the fault in himself?

  This indicates a toxic relationship.

• Boundaries not respected

  : A toxic partner will always cross boundaries—even if they know them.

• Isolation to dependency

  : Ultimately, a toxic partner's goal is to isolate you.

  “Either directly, because you are not allowed to meet your friends.

  Or indirectly, because your friends have often advised you to separate and you are ashamed of them,” says couple therapist Hemschemeier.

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