16 Habits That Are Super Toxic (And Not ‘Normal Couple’ Behavior)

“Throwing shit/breaking shit. It’s honestly weird how many people don’t realize this is abuse. Just because you don’t physically harm the other person, does not mean it isn’t abusive, scary, intimidating, threatening, etc. It’s very clearly abusive.” — notsolameduck

“Calling your partner vulgar/offensive names in arguments. So many people believe this is normal couple behavior.” — DuncanIdahosGhola

“Silent treatment. Silent treatment is a form of emotional abuse. When a person refuses to communicate with you in order to control or influence your behavior. It can lead one to feel anxiety, intense abandonment, rejection, and overall distress.” — Ornery_Tackle_767

“Programming your partner to not see their friends, and to feel like they need to engage with you most.” — AVBforPrez

“Telling someone that they did not hear or see what they did. Making them question their memory and sanity – just so you don’t look bad.” — lalabrat

“Rage driving. Intentionally driving fast/recklessly to frighten passengers.” — fasac17975

“Subtle comments about somebody’s appearance, in hopes that they’ll become insecure with themselves.” — AVBforPrez

“Doing someone a favor or helping them out and then casually mentioning how difficult it was for you and that it was a huge sacrifice. ‘Hey I got you your favorite candy bar.’ ‘Oh what a nice surprise thank you so much!’ ‘Yeah I had to go three different places to find it and nearly roasted to death, it’s so hot out. It’s a lot more expensive than it used to be. Traffic was terrible, I almost got t-boned at the intersection. Which would have been the perfect end to the shitty day I had!’ Sometimes this is followed up later with: ‘Aren’t you going to eat your damn candy bar?!’ Do that enough to someone and they’ll be terrified to ever ask anyone for anything. And they’ll assume that when someone does something nice that they’re secretly resentful.” — LordPizzaParty

“Trying to shame/gaslight someone out of their own aspirations/pursuing their own happiness due to your own insecurities and jealously.” — EnduringAnhedonia

“Mocking someone with the defense: ‘Oh come on! I was just joking! Sheesh, lighten up.’” — Anishinaapunk

“Compulsive, consistent, lying. You take away someone’s ability to consent to a situation when you lie to them.” — farrah_berra

“Encouraging someone when they are having destructive behaviors.” — xeroonethree

“Putting the pressure of huge expectations on someone and then telling everyone that all of these dreams are the person’s dreams even though they’re obviously yours.” — Bizarre_Protuberance

“Being told that you shouldn’t feel a certain way and that you are wrong. People should not try to control other people’s emotions.” — Express_Presence_723

“Making fun of your hobbies or how you eat then saying they are just teasing/joking.” — Valuable_Panda_4228

“Treating someone like shit and then trying to make them out to be the bad person when they don’t want to talk to you, especially when your apologies are half-baked.” — HungryTreasure