7 Common Warning Signs Of A Toxic Relationship

Sara Knick
3 min readSep 13, 2021
Photo by jurien huggins on Unsplash.

A toxic relationship can suck the life right out of you. Some people have a long history of getting themselves into toxic relationships and staying far too long.

What exactly is a toxic relationship?

Here’s one explanation from the book, “Toxic People” (1995) by Dr. Lillian Glass:

“Any relationship between people who don’t support each other, where there’s conflict and one seeks to undermine the other, where there’s competition, where there’s disrespect and a lack of cohesiveness.”

Does that sound like any of your past or present relationships?

Consider these commonalities found in toxic relationships:

1. Controlling behavior. Toxic relationships often have an element of control.

Does your partner always have to have everything their way?

Does she insist on going with you when you spend time with your friends?

Does he always need to be the center of attention?

Does she refuse to accept blame even when it’s obviously her fault?

Does your partner limit whom you’re allowed to see or when?

2. Distrust. Demanding to know where you are and with whom is a prime example of mistrust.

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