As you can imagine, dealing with a toxic relationship and all that comes with it will take its toll. In the short term, this may look like simply missing out on meeting the right people for you. But it can also lead to embarrassment, says sexologist and sensual yoga teacher Joy Berkheimer, Ph.D.

For example, if you’ve been bombarded by a toxic person, “you end up telling all your friends and maybe posting about it,” she explains, adding that it’s often accompanied by the silent treatment for unknown reasons, bouts of sudden passivity. – aggressive jealousy or outright insult to your appearance and/or intelligence that leaves you speechless.

Then, [you don’t want] more to share anything about that interaction,” explains Berkheimer.

And in the long run, the consequences of a toxic relationship are more serious. This can look like isolation from your loved ones, changes in your body due to exhaustion due to fights or anxiety due to relationship dysfunction, emotional turmoil due to feeling embarrassed by a partner who keeps you in a continuous cycle of breaking up and getting back together, and the bonding of trauma.

A traumatized relationship is a relationship with an abusive person who mistreats you emotionally, physically, and/or sexually. Unconsciously, you create a strong bond with your romantic partner to cope with your trauma or abuse, and Berkheimer says that’s a recipe for dangerous disaster.

The longer you stay in a toxic relationship, the harder it is to break up. In these partnerships there is an imbalance of control and constant aggression.