The impact of a toxic relationship on our physical and mental health can be significant and negative, says Wilkie. 'Research shows that the physical effects include poor sleep, a higher risk of heart problems, high blood sugar levels, high blood pressure, obesity, weakened immune system and organ damage,' he says.
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).
Toxic relationships often lead to extreme stress, depression, and a weakened immune system.
Toxic relationships cause feelings of low self-worth, helplessness, fear, anxiety, depression, insecurity, paranoia, and even narcissism. “Toxic relationships are dangerous to your health; they will literally kill you. Stress shortens your lifespan.
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.
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.
When looking at the timeline of breakups, many sites refer to a “study” that's actually a consumer poll a market research company conducted on behalf of Yelp. The poll's results suggest it takes an average of about 3.5 months to heal, while recovering after divorce might take closer to 1.5 years, if not longer.
The role models we grow up with are often the first source
We tend to repeat toxic relationships with partners, friends, coworkers, and the like because of the role models we received as a child. The more aware we become of those patterns, the less likely we will continue seeking and repeating them unconsciously.
Your body can turn off or repel if you're not interested in someone physically, emotionally, or mentally — or if your relationship is changing, like [if] you've been arguing with your partner [or] are feeling too comfortable,” Bradbury says. Sometimes the body senses what the brain has yet to process.
This trauma can often lead to feelings of depression, anxiety, disordered eating, low self-esteem and self-harm such as cutting. Mental health and traumatic triggers are directly linked to toxic relationships and vice versa.
What is gaslighting in a relationship? It's a form of psychological manipulation in which one person makes the other partner doubt his or her perceptions, experiences, memories, or understanding of events that happened.
Some people describe it as a dull ache, others as piercing, while still others experience it as a crushing sensation. The pain can last for a few seconds and then subside, or it can be chronic, hanging over your days and depleting you like just like the pain, say, of a back injury or a migraine.
We are worried that we will never love or be loved again. We are scared of the pain that we will feel. We worry that our person will move on and be fixed for their next person. We are afraid that all the time we have wasted in this relationship will make it difficult for us to find the happy life that we long for.
Gaslighting
Veasley says gaslighting is one of the most common forms of emotional manipulation and a toxic behavior you shouldn't tolerate. It's a good idea to identify ways to deal with gaslighting.
In true love, there is comfort in separate interests. We can have our own friends and meaningful relationships outside of our romantic relationships. We can pursue interests and ideas without fear of reprimand. On the other hand, in toxic love, there is total involvement in one another's lives.
Toxic love: Relationship is based on delusion and avoidance of the unpleasant. Love: Self-care by both partners; emotional state not dependent on other's mood. Toxic love: Expectation that one partner will fix and rescue the other. Love: Loving detachment (healthy concern about partner, while letting go.)