Ever wonder why my site is called FullyWell by Mel…Well I believe that good health goes beyond just nutrition and exercise. It comes from achieving balance in every area in our lives, striving to be FULLY WELL. That includes the emotional and social parts of our lives, too! Cue this post on relationships…
If there’s someone in your life who is draining your energy or causing you stress, you could be dealing with a toxic relationship.
What are toxic relationships?
Toxic relationships can take many forms, including draining energy, causing drama, control and manipulation or even violating the boundaries of other people in order to get the emotional benefits they need.
Toxic people often don’t realize the destruction they cause. Interactions with these types of people can lower our self-esteem and captivate our energy in a negative way. If you are a particularly sensitive person (or empath), you may feel the need to take care of a toxic person, often leading to the depletion of your own wellness. This can be even more destructive than the pain of confronting or withdrawing from the behavior of a toxic person.
So, how do you navigate relationships with toxic people?
Ideally, we would cut off contact with anyone who doesn’t benefit our emotional wellbeing. We would simply never talk to the people who drag us down. However, there are some people that we just can’t avoid, such as parents, siblings, and bosses.
Thankfully, there are middle grounds between engaging with destructive people and completely cutting them off. You can learn and practice different communication techniques, such as Nonviolent Communication or Conscious Communication. If you must interact with a person on a personal level, you can look up support groups in your area for support and love from other people. Lots of online support options also exist.
Take care of yourself first.
For some people, this is the hardest lesson they ever have to learn. In order to serve others and be of service, you have to take care of yourself first, otherwise you won’t have the resources to share your time and energy with others.
If avoiding a toxic person entirely is what’s necessary for you to take care of yourself, do what you need to do for your own stress levels and well-being. Stress wears upon your body, from your sleep, to gut issues and even blood pressure. Read my post on how to reduce stress to avoid the negative consequences.
How have you managed to deal with toxic people in your life? What relationships stress you out most in your life? Share your story in the comments!
