It's easy to see the many ways that relationships -- whether with friends, family members, coworkers, or significant others -- add value to our life.
In a healthy relationship, both individuals give and receive love, affection, kindness, compassion, advice, and support. Both invest the time and energy to make the other feel special and acknowledged. Neither takes the other for granted or bolts at the first sign of trouble, whether in the relationship or outside of it.
A toxic relationship, on the other hand, is suffused with negativity and riddled with conflict. Distrust snowballs into deep resentment. Lying, lambasting, and lashing out become par for the course.
While occasional arguments are normal in a relationship and can be beneficial in the sense that both people learn to work toward achieving common ground, too much fighting can escalate to the point where (1) both individuals are at each other's throats (2) they grow so disillusioned that they stop caring altogether.
If you feel you're making a conscious effort to do right by the other person but he or she isn't reciprocating, you may be subjecting yourself to behavior that no one should ever have to tolerate.
Four things that we should never put up with in any relationship are:
1. Disrespect - If the other person isn't giving you the respect you give them, it raises serious questions about their manners and character.
2. Indifference - If the other individual is hardly invested -- always leaving it to you to call, text, or propose an outing -- it's pretty obvious the relationship is one-sided and you're being taken for granted.
3. Lying - If the other person is a compulsive liar, how can you ever trust them? Some people get by on looks, charm, and/or lies alone. And no matter how often they apologize, they just continue to do it. Lying comes in different shapes and sizes, the most egregious of which is cheating.
4. Abuse - If you're experiencing physical or mental pain at the hands of the other person, it goes without saying that you need to sever ties. No relationship -- I don't care of it's with your spouse, father, or best friend -- is worth risking your well-being for.
There are plenty of good people in the world who would never treat you like garbage. Never allow anyone to have so much control over your life and feelings. You deserve better.
In a healthy relationship, both individuals give and receive love, affection, kindness, compassion, advice, and support. Both invest the time and energy to make the other feel special and acknowledged. Neither takes the other for granted or bolts at the first sign of trouble, whether in the relationship or outside of it.
A toxic relationship, on the other hand, is suffused with negativity and riddled with conflict. Distrust snowballs into deep resentment. Lying, lambasting, and lashing out become par for the course.
While occasional arguments are normal in a relationship and can be beneficial in the sense that both people learn to work toward achieving common ground, too much fighting can escalate to the point where (1) both individuals are at each other's throats (2) they grow so disillusioned that they stop caring altogether.
If you feel you're making a conscious effort to do right by the other person but he or she isn't reciprocating, you may be subjecting yourself to behavior that no one should ever have to tolerate.
Four things that we should never put up with in any relationship are:
1. Disrespect - If the other person isn't giving you the respect you give them, it raises serious questions about their manners and character.
2. Indifference - If the other individual is hardly invested -- always leaving it to you to call, text, or propose an outing -- it's pretty obvious the relationship is one-sided and you're being taken for granted.
3. Lying - If the other person is a compulsive liar, how can you ever trust them? Some people get by on looks, charm, and/or lies alone. And no matter how often they apologize, they just continue to do it. Lying comes in different shapes and sizes, the most egregious of which is cheating.
4. Abuse - If you're experiencing physical or mental pain at the hands of the other person, it goes without saying that you need to sever ties. No relationship -- I don't care of it's with your spouse, father, or best friend -- is worth risking your well-being for.
There are plenty of good people in the world who would never treat you like garbage. Never allow anyone to have so much control over your life and feelings. You deserve better.
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