What are the signs of an unhealthy relationship?

 When we’re attached to someone we can often ignore the red flags in the relationship. Sometimes, we might be in a toxic relationship which we might mistake for love and this is where the trouble begins. For example, being possessive is natural but low-key emotionally blackmailing your partner is not. We don’t even realize that we’re in not just unhealthy but also abusive relationships.

There are different types of abuses that we should identify if we’re in a relationship: -

1. Physical Abuse- this involves being violent with the partner, hitting them, using objects to harm them, physical restraint, physically stopping them from doing something, threatening to physically abuse them, etc.

2. Emotional or Psychological Abuse- this involves insults, humiliation, yelling, screaming, controlling behaviors such as controlling who they meet, what they wear and do, isolation from friends and family, extreme possessiveness, threatening to kill yourself or your partner, gaslighting, blaming the partner for abusive behavior, etc.

3. Sexual abuse- unwanted sexual contact, forcing pregnancy or forcing them to terminate a pregnancy, unwanted touching, forcing partner to engage in sexual activities, rape, attempted rape, etc.

There is also a cycle of abuse in unhealthy or toxic relationships such as there’s a stressful situation and it leads to a conflict between the couple and the victim might even comply with the abuser. This stage is followed by an abusive incident, the nature of abuse can be any, physical, emotional, verbal, etc. This is followed by another phase where the abuser apologizes, shows remorse, seeks forgiveness, and tells the victim that this will not be repeated. The relationship is calm after that and the abuse stops but only for a while and the cycle begins again.

The above-mentioned signs are to look out for in a relationship as it can get worse over time for the victim’s mental health.

If you feel pressurised by your partner and they force you to do something you don’t want to and they refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer then this is a signal of being in an unhealthy relationship.

If they get angry easily and you feel that you have to walk on eggshells around them because you’re unsure of what might trigger them then it’s a sign of an unhealthy relationship.

If your partner makes you feel bad about yourself, reminds you of your past mistakes, engages in name-calling then this is not correct.

If they’re controlling, overly possessive, track you every time you go out, you feel like you’re always being watched and your every action is scrutinized then this is a sign of insecurity and lack of trust which should not be ignored.

In any healthy relationship, some boundaries are required and this does not in any way mean that two people are not close to each other rather it states that two people respect each other’s space and realize that despite being each other’s partners they can have their own independent identity. Such healthy and respectful boundaries prevent the person from being in a co-dependent and toxic relationship.

And Can take online relationship counseling from a well-qualified counselor to maintain a healthy relationship.