11 Things People Don’t Realize You’re Doing Because You Were In A Toxic Relationship

1. You have a hard time trusting anyone in your life.

Because toxic relationships can be so traumatic, your level of trust has plummeted. Even people you have known for ages, you question. It will take a good amount of time to build back your trust with people close to you, because the one person who you trusted the most, was incredibly toxic to you.

2. You know now to trust your gut, no matter what.

Now, you know to never ever ignore what your gut instincts tell you. Even tiny red flags that may mean nothing to most people, you will never turn your head from. You trust yourself more than anyone else right now.

3. You are incredibly protective of your friends.

When your friends enter new relationships or make new friends, you watch and observe them carefully. You don’t want them to fall into the black hole that is a negative or toxic relationship, so you’re incredibly precautionary when it comes to your friend’s significant others.

4. Sometimes your opinion can be taken the wrong way.

Because you have been through it, you don’t want anyone of your loved ones to go through what you went through. If you speak up and tell your sister or friend that their friend or boyfriend isn’t good news, they can get defensive. Even though you mean well, many people might just assume you’re jealous and ignore your advice.

5. On some days, you want to remain single forever.

When you think back to the past, you know that you wouldn’t want your worst enemy to go through that either. Sometimes, being single is a sigh of relief for you because you’re safe. You’re safe from a relationship that could turn sour. You’re safe from other people hurting you.

6. On other days, you feel incredibly lonely and isolated.

Of course there are days where you really want someone to love you. You want someone to love you the right way! One day, you really would like to be in a committed relationship that isn’t so scary or foreign to you. It seems like such an obscure concept to you, that you can’t quite picture it, but you still wish for it.

7. You’ve lost some friends because of this past relationship.

When you were in this toxic relationship, you weren’t yourself. You were a different person when you were with this individual because you never felt good enough for them and as a result, you lost some friends along the way. You also spent the majority of your time with your significant other, which caused some tension between you and your friends.

8. Your overall attitude has changed.

You used to trust everybody. You used to see the glass half full and to love life whole heartedly. But now, a part of you is broken. A part of you that you may never fully heal. Toxic relationships can be incredibly damaging to your psyche, and it may take a lot of time for you to take down the walls you have built around you.

9. You are wary of strangers.

It’s really really hard for you to give your heart to someone else, and because of that, you’re more wary of people and don’t blindly trust everyone that walks into your life.

10. You don’t go on first dates with just anyone.

Your standards have skyrocketed and you know deep down that it will take an incredible person to tear your walls down. Dating to you now is more seriously taken and you won’t go on a date with just anyone. It will take a special person for you to finally get out there in the dating world again.

11. Your self esteem has never been quite the same as before.

You are more unsure of yourself now. You’re not as confident as before, and you’re definetely more reserved. It will take some time for you to gain back the confidence that this person took from you, and to heal from all the insults and disrespect that this person swung at you.