Breaking Free from the Cycle of Abuse in Relationships
It’s never easy to admit that the partner you chose is causing you harm, especially when the relationship started like a fairy tale. This is one of the reasons so many women struggle to walk away from abusive dynamics.
In relationships marked by violence, you might spend years trying to salvage things—silencing your pain, forgiving endlessly, and enduring it all. But sadly, this takes a heavy toll over time: your self-worth crumbles, anxiety creeps in, trust becomes a distant memory, social ties fray, and prolonged stress ushers in a host of health issues.
Abuse in relationships isn’t always physical, and it doesn’t necessarily leave visible bruises.
Other forms of violence include:
- Sexual: Forcing you into unwanted acts of a sexual nature.
- Economic: Controlling your money, banning you from working or studying.
- Psychological: Manipulating, threatening, gaslighting, stalking, or isolating you.
Does arguing count as abuse? No, disagreements are a natural part of healthy relationships. But if your partner consistently dismisses your arguments or needs, erupts in anger, lashes out aggressively, manipulates to get their way, or insults you to prove a point—these are glaring signs of psychological abuse.
Here are more behaviors that have no place in a healthy partnership:
- Ignoring your “no.”
- Trampling your boundaries.
- Constant jealousy.
- Taking out anger on those less powerful.
- Exploding over anything they dislike.
- Clinging to rigid gender stereotypes.
- Making decisions for you.
- Seeking to control your spending, movements, or conversations.
If many of these warning signs feel like your everyday reality, it’s time to summon the strength to break the cycle of domestic abuse.
