Toxic relationships can take a toll on your emotional and mental health, leaving scars that can last long after the relationship has ended. While the end of a toxic relationship can bring a sense of relief, it's important to recognise the signs of trauma that may persist after the relationship is over.
An abusive relationship can lead to PTSD, Dr. Tendler said, because the traumatic events that took place during the relationship can cause the symptoms to stay present during and long after the relationship has ended.
“There is not just one incident, but different incidents over the course of time in an abusive relationship that may cause PTSD. Incidents experienced in abusive relationships can cause PTSD. These may include physical, mental, verbal, or sexual abuse.
Toxic relationships negatively affect mental health and can have a harmful impact on your physical health as well. You are in a constant fight-or-flight mode and are unable to relax, and that can lead to anxiety, depression, interrupted sleep, and even weaken the immune system over time.
Emotional Trauma Symptoms
Not everyone responds to trauma in exactly the same way, but here are some common signs: Cognitive Changes: Intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and flashbacks of the event, confusion, difficulty with memory and concentration, and mood swings.
Women with PTSD may be more likely than men with PTSD to: Be easily startled. Have more trouble feeling emotions or feel numb. Avoid things that remind them of the trauma.
Toxic relationships can severely affect mental health, often leading to a decline in self-esteem, energy levels, and overall happiness. Constant exposure to toxicity can generate feelings of insecurity, as victims frequently question themselves and navigate the relationship with caution.
The stress and turmoil of a toxic relationship can bring out behaviors that you may not indulge in otherwise. The parts of your personality that you don't necessarily like will come out because you're constantly feeling stressed and negative.
The harmful behaviors in a toxic relationship, such as criticism, belittling, manipulation, and control, can cause emotional distress, leading to mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
Many people are surprised that infidelity can result in such a terrible betrayal that they are traumatized by the act. However, this is not uncommon. In some cases, infidelity-related PTSD is called post-infidelity stress disorder (PISD) and results from betrayal trauma.
PTRS can be defined as an anxiety disorder that can occur subsequent to the experience of physical, emotional, or psychological abuse in the context of an intimate partner relationship.
“Symptoms of abandonment trauma can include extreme insecurity or anxiety within a relationship, obsessive or intrusive thoughts of being abandoned, and also debilitating self-esteem or self regard.” When children feel abandoned, it can leave them feeling frightened and unsafe.
Chronic stress from toxic relationships can cause a long-term activation (3) of the brain's CTRA, contributing to chronic inflammation and increasing the risk of health problems like adrenal fatigue.
Toxic relationships may be causing real damage to your self-esteem and your overall mental health as well as your physical health. You may find that a toxic relationship impacts your ability to engage in self-care.
A toxic person is someone who regularly displays actions and behaviors that hurt others or otherwise negatively impact the lives of the people around them, and they're usually the main instigating factor of a toxic relationship.
People with toxic traits know they have them
But many people with toxic traits don't realize that their behavior impacts others. You may have toxic traits that you don't know about. Some toxic traits, like absolutism, manifest subtly.
Because the familiarity of the pain feels like safety. We learned early in our primary relationships what we had to do to receive love, and often times this meant giving up our own needs to serve somebody else. The chaos, unpredictability, abuse, pain, and suffering feel safe when they were entangled with love.
In any toxic relationship there will be other qualities missing too, such as respect, kindness and compassion, but at the heart of a toxic person's behaviour is the lack of concern around their impact on others. They come with a critical failure to see past their own needs and wants.
Signs of trauma in women can include dissociation. In these situations, she may not remember her self-destructive behaviors from an earlier time. She may not be aware of how she got into a particular situation or place. She may be unable to account for periods of time in her week.
Regardless of the extent of the trauma, untreated trauma will manifest in physical, psychological, emotional, and social problems. Many individuals will find that alcohol and drugsrelieve the symptoms experienced, however, over time this could develop into more serious and detrimental issues.
PTSD Symptoms
Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms include: Reliving the event, sometimes through nightmares or flashbacks. Physical symptoms, like a racing heart or sweating, may also occur. Avoiding situations that remind of the event.