Check yourself: 4 signs you are toxic partner
How to understand your toxicity in relationships (illustration: Freepik)
When you're unhappy in a relationship, it's easy to blame your partner for being toxic. But what if this is you who are the toxic partner? No one is perfect, so anyone can sometimes demonstrate toxic behaviors and patterns without realizing it, according to Lifehacker.
Signs of toxicity in relationships
If the following signs are present in behavior, it's better to face reality, analyze, and change behavior. It will contribute to healthy relationships.
You're always indulgent and hypercritical
Do you always find faults in your partner? Do you criticize them constantly, from how they drive the car to how they wash the dishes?
Perhaps, you believe you have good intentions. Or you think you're helping your partner change.
But if you constantly find faults and talk down to your partner, they'll feel worse rather than better around you, and that's toxic.
You manipulate and control
You insist on making most, if not all, important decisions for yourself and your partner. You rarely compromise, and if your partner resists your idea, you typically get angry or sulk about it.
You might even withhold information from your partner or lie to them to get your way. Relationships are built on compromise and trust, and being demanding and manipulative undermines the foundations of healthy relationships.
You're a narcissist
A narcissist spends too much time thinking, talking, and boasting about themselves. In this case, labels, achievements, and titles matter more than substance.
If you take pride in how much money you make and focus on buying expensive things to feel good instead of investing in your emotional well-being and your relationships, you may be narcissistic.
Also, if you see your partner as a means to get what you want or to feel better about yourself rather than respecting them as an individual, you're demonstrating narcissistic behavior.
You lack empathy for your partner
Empathy is the ability to be sensitive to someone else's feelings and experiences and adjust your behavior accordingly. If you can inflict pain on your partner without feeling guilty or find a way to blame them for your actions, you're toxic.
Understanding and respecting your partner's feelings are essential parts of successful relationships, and if you refuse to empathize with their experience, you're toxic.
