When you’re in a happy, healthy relationship, you can see its positive impact in almost every area of your life. In the same sense, unhealthy relationships can have the same type of negative affect on your life, especially your health. So if you’ve noticed that your health is falling by the wayside and you’re stuck in an unhealthy relationship, be it a marriage or a friendship, here are three ways this toxic relationship could be causing you to have poor health.
Increased Stress Levels
An unhealthy relationship can be very detrimental to both your physical and mental health. One way this is evident is in the stress that this relationship can cause and how that stress can be made manifest in your physical body. According to Amanda MacMullin, a contributor to Health.com, you can have stress in your relationship over things like financial problems, parenting disagreements, emotional abuse, or even just small arguments about normal things in life. When these things cause you stress, it can impact your health through giving you anxiety, stomach issues, and overall discontent and lack of well-being.
Weight Gain
When you feel stressed, anxious, and unhappy, it can be seen on your body in many ways. One of the most common things that can happen when you’re feeling depressed as a result of a negative relationship is weight gain. According to Maryann Troiani, a contributor to FoxNews.com, being sad or angry can lead people to eat their feelings or eat in order to make themselves feel better about their situation. In contrast, when you’re in a healthy relationship, you and your partner may either eat together as a way to spend time together or take on healthy habits that will help you to lose weight and be healthier. In fact, it’s often been found that people lose weight once they leave an unhealthy relationship.
The Potential For Addictive Behaviors
Just like when you’re in any type of situation that you don’t like or aren’t comfortable with, you may start looking for ways to take away the pain or become numb. For many people, this results in them turning to drugs or alcohol, according to Pamela J. Hobart, a contributor to Bustle.com. While this might ease your pain temporarily, the consequences of indulging in these addictive behaviors can cause the actual issues you’re dealing with to become worse, like increasing your stress and anxiety.
If you’re currently in an unhealthy or toxic relationship, it could be taking a major toll on both your physical and mental health. Consider using the information presented above to show you exactly how and why this may be happening to you.
Originally posted on June 1, 2018 @ 3:44 pm