How to know if toxic people are damaging your mental health?

How to know if toxic people are damaging your mental health. The way in which we relate to our environment has a direct impact on our mental health, which is why it is so important to establish healthy and adaptive interpersonal relationships.

When a relationship does not meet the most basic requirements of coexistence and affects one way or another to each of the members of the same or to a single party, we say that we are facing a toxic relationship.

Next We will see in summary what toxic relationships consist of and we will see how this type of relationship can harm mental health of people.

• Related article: "The 6 main types of toxic relationships"

What are toxic relationships?

Toxic relationships are those in which it occurs, voluntarily or not, damage to one of the parties or to both people that make up the relationship, and that also generate a "vicious circle" effect that gives them continuity by repeating over and over again harmful actions for one or both members.

People who are immersed in a toxic relationship, which can be friendship, partner, family or work, They usually experience feelings of anguish, suffering, anxiety or stress due to the very effect and dynamics of the relationship.

There are many types of toxic relationship, the most frequent and recognizable are toxic relationships in couple, but there are also toxic relationships between friends or families that are much more difficult to detect.

Since people are different and no one is the same as another, These types of relationships usually have a great impact on the mental health of the victim, through alterations that can be greater or better depending on their personality and the personal psychological strategies that each one has to face adversities.

How to know if a toxic relationship is damaging your mental health

Some toxic relationships can really affect people's mental health, here We briefly present the main foci of psychological affectation of this type of relations.

1. You seek the constant acceptance of that person

Constantly seeking acceptance from that particular person is often a sign of emotional dependence, a phenomenon on which many toxic relationships are based, both as a couple, both with friends and with relatives.

People who develop an emotional dependency on another person They tend to believe that their happiness is necessarily linked to the other and that they can never be happy or achieve anything if it is not with that particular person.

In this type of dependency relationship, there is usually a dominant person who is the one who promotes progressively that the other party is more and more dependent on his acceptance, his affection or her love, a negative dynamic and very toxic.

• Related article: "The 5 types of couples therapy"

2. Are you afraid of that person?

The fear that one person feels towards the other is one of the essential keys with which toxic relationships can be identified.

When a relationship is based on fear and one of the people moves by avoiding certain reactions on the part of the other, in the long run that will significantly damage the mental health of those who maintain a submissive attitude.

This fear can be inspired by many reasons: for example, there may be a fear that our partner got angry about something we do and left us, for fear of being mistreated or for fear that they would stop love each other

3. You avoid conflicts with that person

Avoiding any type of conflict with that person at all costs can also be considered an unequivocal sign of a toxic relationship; Normally in healthy relationships there are disagreements and arguments from time to time., given that both members of the relationship continue to maintain a certain level of autonomy and their own interests.

Make every effort not to argue or not have conflicts with that person for fear of that he gets angry or abandons us, is one of the classic dynamics that characterize relationships toxic.

This fear generally ends up causing, as has been indicated, that the person who feels it ends up giving in to everything and agreeing to any of the requests or demands that the dominant person has, to avoid any type of discussion.

• You may be interested in: "Couple problems: what causes them, and how they are treated in psychology"

4. Your self-esteem drops considerably

In toxic relationships it is common for one of the people to end up developing a low self-esteem when habitually dealing with a person who undermines your selfconcept or make you feel bad. This psychological phenomenon may not be easily identified often, but once identified, it is one of the most reliable proofs that we are in a toxic relationship.

Toxic people often end up eroding the self-esteem of the person they want to dominate so much, so that their excesses and abuses are overlooked or even a dependency link is generated.

5. You feel that it distances you from your social circle

Removing the victim from her social circle is another of the classic characteristics that occur in toxic relationships by toxic people who are part of them.

This social circle includes both friends and close relatives and when there is a toxic relationship involved, a progressive conscious and active deterioration of that bond occurs. to isolate the person being manipulated.

6. You normally assume attempts to control you

Permanent control attempts and jealousy become a daily element in toxic relationships, to the point that no one questions them. That causes the link to deteriorate rapidly, because you enter a vicious circle of control and manipulation by not stopping it.

The tendency to monitor what the other person is doing all the time, investigate their social relationships, and even their mobile devices and social networks, is an unquestionable sign of a toxic relationship between two people.

7. You blame yourself for the abuse and disrespect you suffer

Abuse and disrespect in a relationship generate great discomfort and suffering in the person who suffers them, and a subsequent affectation on their mental and psychological health. Now, in consolidated toxic relationships, It is common to blame oneself for suffering from that role of victim.

There are many forms of abuse and disrespect in toxic relationships, from humiliation, constant teasing to more serious ones such as sexual abuse and sexual assault.

Are you looking for psychological assistance services?

If you want to have professional psychological assistance, contact me.

My name is Thomas Saint Cecilia and I specialize in intervention from the cognitive-behavioral model. I can help you in person or online.