Treat yourself the same way you would treat someone you care about (including forgiving yourself) and remind yourself you're doing the best you can. Practice self-compassion by: Journaling about your feelings, mistakes, and challenges. Practicing self-care and doing things that make you feel happy and rejuvenated.
Some of the physical side effects of a toxic relationship are disrupted sleep, poor nutrition, digestive issues, muscle tightness, fatigue/feeling constantly worn down, and immunity issues (getting ill more often).
Some people may take only months to heal and recover from a toxic relationship, whereas if the divorce or separation is painful because you still love your ex, the healing might take a year or more. Everyone processes grief in different ways. And there is no right or wrong way to heal.
Relationship PTSD is a trauma-related disorder linked to an abusive or toxic relationship with a spouse or significant other. Relationship PTSD differs from other types of PTSD in terms of symptoms and signs. Relationship PTSD can be difficult to live with, but treatments and support are available.
An abusive relationship can absolutely lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). To understand why this is, it is first important to understand what trauma does to the brain and how it can impact one's mental and physical wellbeing.
Toxic relationships create mental strain and stress, and even all out health problems. Our emotions and nervous systems can only handle so much. This study found that toxic relationships increased anxiety and stress disorders, while health relationships decreased anxiety and stress disorders.
Unhealthy relationships may contribute to a toxic social environment that can lead to stress, depression, anxiety, and even suicide. It is important to recognize the warning signs and find ways to reduce or avoid relational toxicity. This is especially true for people recovering from a history of substance abuse.
Chronic stress from toxic relationships can cause a long-term activation (3) of the brain's CTRA, contributing to chronic inflammation and increasing the risk of health problems like adrenal fatigue.
Lack of control
People who are in an unhealthy relationship frequently attempt to end it. But they don't in the end. It occurs because some people have low self-esteem and, due to that, they believe they have no control over relationships and situations. As a result, people choose to stay rather than leave.
You need to learn how to set boundaries so that manipulative or aggressive people do not take advantage of you. Additionally, you should shift your focus to spending more quality time with family, friends and coworkers who respect you and who will support your decision to depart from that unhealthy situation.
Toxic relationships can lead to us experience the heavy weight of guilt and responsibility for other people's negative behaviour. You might be shocked by the intensity of your feelings, and this can colour your whole life as you grieve for how different things could have been.
Toxic relationships can create lasting effects. If we do not work through that trauma, it can have the ability to affect many different areas of our lives. It can create self-doubt, avoidance of intimacy, and paranoia, to name just a few.
A toxic relationship takes a huge hit on your self-esteem. If your partner is horrible to you or insists on betraying you whenever they can, the result will be a lack of self-esteem. It's not going to bode well with other areas of your life. You will start to doubt yourself as a person, friend, or coworker.
Women with PTSD may be more likely than men with PTSD to: Be easily startled. Have more trouble feeling emotions or feel numb. Avoid things that remind them of the trauma.
Intrusive memories
Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event. Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks) Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the traumatic event. Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the traumatic event.
From Freyd (2008): Betrayal trauma occurs when the people or institutions on which a person depends for survival significantly violate that person' s trust or well-being: Childhood physical, emotional, or sexual abuse perpetrated by a caregiver are examples of betrayal trauma.
Anxiety, feelings of shame or guilt, or being detached or disinterested. Changes in sleep habits, including insomnia or sleeping more than usual. Being jumpy or easily startled. Changes in mood or losing interest in things they used to enjoy.