How Toxic Relationships Damage Your Belief In Love (And Yourself)
They make you doubt your self-worth. Being in a toxic relationship can create deep insecurities of you not being good enough, not being pretty enough, not being smart enough, and so on. You started doubting whether you are deserving of a loving relationship simply because your partner always makes you feel you’re unimportant. They make you feel they have more value than you do. It’s important to have a strong foundation of who you are deep within you. That you establish your self-worth within yourself. Because when you do, you can easily walk away from those who don’t value you. From those who constantly show you that you are better off without them. From those who bring you sorrow instead of happiness, depression instead of peace and calmness.
They make you feel unwanted and unloved. A lot of people are stuck in a toxic relationship because they are so used to proving to their partner that they deserve love and affection. They work extra hard to gain their respect. They go an extra mile to prove they are worth it. But let me tell you this: The right person will never consciously make you feel unloved and disrespected. They will get mad at you, but they will never intentionally hurt you and damage your relationship. If they did something wrong, they will make up for it. If they somehow made you feel bad, they will fix it. They look after you, not just on a physical aspect, but mentally and emotionally, too.
They break your faith in love. After being in a toxic relationship, you will start losing your faith in finding the right one. You will start believing love isn’t for you. That all the people you meet in life will do the same thing—they will break your heart and damage you as a person. That’s why it is important to see all the red flags at the start of a relationship and to not justify them just to be with a certain person. There are a lot of great people that you can meet only if you present yourself as someone who values themselves as who they are, as someone who deeply respects themselves, and as someone who has established a healthy mindset in love and in humanity.
They change the whole dynamic of a healthy relationship. When you’re in a toxic relationship, you’ll start normalizing that toxicity will always be present. That it’s a part of being in a relationship. You will start believing that fighting over little things almost every day is common in every relationship. You would think it is normal to beg for your partner’s affection. To chase them, to constantly give your 100% when they are giving you crumbs. A healthy relationship consists of two people making an effort for each other, and I don’t mean giving surprises every single day to one another. It is two people who make each other feel loved in every way they can, supporting each other, and helping each other grow in love and in life. It is learning their likes and dislikes, respecting their values, and loving the whole being of who they are. It is accepting the bad alongside the good. It is choosing to be with them at all costs.