Toxic and abusive relationships
Learn how to recognize and address toxic and abusive relationships. Our contributors offer guidance on identifying signs of abuse, understanding its impact, and finding ways to safely exit such relationships. Learn about the different forms of abuse, the psychological effects, and available support systems. Find practical advice and support if you are experiencing or recovering from toxic and abusive relationships.
Five Red Flags of Limerence Instead of Real Love
Have you ever felt that your way of loving people is a bit too much? Has anyone ever expressed this to you or made you feel judged for it? Have you been ghosted or abandoned by someone you were really...
The Dark Side of Keeping the Peace and Why Your Niceness is Not Neutral
I was raised in a family deeply rooted in dysfunction and abuse. It shaped me quietly and invisibly into someone who believed that keeping the peace was survival. Later in life, I found myself building businesses surrounded...
What If Your Loyalty to Others Led You to Abandon Yourself?
Exploring how codependent patterns can quietly fuel addiction, and what it means to reclaim your sense of self. Addiction is often viewed as a personal battle with substances or behaviors, but it...
The Way You Love Might Be Hurting You, but It Doesn’t Have to Stay That Way
Have you been living with a broken heart? Loving through pain that never really left? Trying to give what you've never fully received? If you're anything like me, you’ve mistaken survival mechanisms for love...
The Invisible Prison of Abusive Relationships and How to Become a Powerful Ally
As a psychotherapist with 16 years of experience, I’ve heard one question about abusive relationships more than any other: “Why don’t they just leave?” This question, while often well-intentioned...
Four Damaging Effects of Toxic Secrecy
Here’s the reality. We all have chapters in our lives that we don’t read aloud. This is because society can be a cruel master toward those experiences. These experiences are a culmination...
Life Is a Puzzle and the Pieces Don’t Always Fit
Life, in all its complexity, resembles a giant, evolving, three-dimensional puzzle. It is made up of millions of diverse experiences, turning points, and relationships.
What If the Way You Love Is Your Toxic Trait?
One of my favourite songs by Whitney Houston is My Love Is Your Love. It speaks of an unconditional, unshakeable love that remains through poverty, war, even death. But what happens when the way we give...
Why Women Become Anxious and Men Become Avoidant Yet Carry the Same Wound
Not long ago, I published a social media post with a simple sentence: “I have body hair. I have a soft belly. I haven’t worn makeup in two years. And I love myself anyway.”
A Trauma-Informed Take on Mel Robbins' Viral Concept of "Let Them" But Not Without Feeling
When I first heard Mel Robbins share her now-famous mantra, 'Let them', I experienced a profound exhale and a flicker of resistance. The idea of letting them walk away, letting them misunderstand...
How Childhood Trauma And Past Experiences Can Shape Your Entire Life?
If you experienced traumatic events as a child, it can influence the choices you make in life and the relationships you get into.
Breaking the Cycle and Healing Family Trauma to Build Healthier Relationships
When people hear the word “trauma,” they often think of major life-altering events: a car accident, a natural disaster, or the sudden loss of a loved one.
Why Healthy Love Feels “Boring” and What It Really Means
If you’ve grown up with chaos or experienced toxic relationships, emotional stability might feel strange or even boring. But that’s not boredom. It’s healing.
Why Avoiding Conflict Can Quietly Break a Relationship and What You Can Do Instead
If you and your partner tend to avoid arguments, you might assume that’s a good thing. After all, who wants to fight? Staying calm, letting things go, or “not making a big deal out of it” can feel like the mature thing to do.
Trauma Bonds and the Addictive Cycle of an Abuser’s Control
There’s a common misconception that an abusive relationship is a 50/50 situation and this is deeply damaging.
