What Is A Toxic Relationship? And, How To Fix One.

What Is A Toxic Relationship?

Toxic relationships are just that. Toxic! They are often poisonous or filled with negative emotion. We all know people who argue for argument sake—pushy when a simple request is all that is needed. They are not approachable, raise every problem to the level of crisis and exaggerate shortcomings. This isn’t just about personality differences. Toxic people have 8 things in common. Everything becomes a crisis. You introduce change; they begin with the reason why something will never work. Redefine the boundaries or end the relationship! Clear the clutter. But…what if you’re married to one? What if your boss is one?

How do you escape? The answer is to leave nothing unsaid. Life is too short. You will be controlled by others’ opinions as long as you continue to tolerate unhealthy relationships. Find a way to have a conversation, and speak to the issue. Sometimes it means ending a relationship, but more often than not it means tackling a difficult relational circumstance head-on with honesty, vulnerability, and love, and leaving the results up to God.

How To Get Out Of A Toxic Relationship

There may be nothing that grows us faster than confronting unhealthy relationships. There is also nothing that can keep us trapped in the past like living with the inner turmoil associated with words unsaid especially in a toxic work or home environment. Toxic people cannot be controlled but you can place boundaries on how they treat you. If this doesn’t work, find somewhere to work or someone else to spend be with.

How To Fix A Toxic Relationship

Most people hate confrontation. Why? People see confrontation as bad. “I don’t want to hurt their feelings. They will think I don’t like them. I just can’t explain how they really make me feel.” Said any of this to yourself? You want to know why confrontation is good? Because if you love someone you should help them. If you have a child who does something wrong, would you let them continue to misbehave? I would hope not. What if you simply rephrased this action? Instead of, “I need to confront.” Change your language to, “I need to help my friend.”

A complete lack of confrontation may sound like a peaceful existence, but those who suffer from a fear of confrontation know that it can be one filled with unhappy moments and a lack of self-assertion. If you suffer from a fear of confrontation, the idea of asserting yourself can be upsetting and frightening, and it can also prevent you from living the life that you want. Overcome your fear of confrontation by learning the correct way to confront someone in a civil and proper manner for the best possible results…More

This has been a significant life lesson for me. It occurred decades ago. I’m very thankful for this shift.