Toxic Relationships Start Out Looking Like Any Other Relationship

A toxic relationship will be something that you’ll never see coming. It’s like a vicious wolf in the woods preying on its food from afar, waiting for the exact moment to attack.

It will start just like any other relationship — you’ll feel the sparks shining through and you’ll feel like you’re on top of the world. From spontaneous dates to even the simplest “good morning” text messages.

Your stomach will be full of butterflies at the sound of his voice and how he says your name. You will feel an adrenaline rush that will make you want and need more of him.

It will be like this for some time until it becomes a daily routine, something that you’ll think you need to survive. You will feel an absolute high.

Once he’s got you wrapped around his finger, he will start to manipulate you little by little, starting from the smallest things like how you want your coffee to who you become friends with.

He will turn your thoughts, beliefs, and values upside down and twist them. He will accuse you of cheating, even if you have done nothing but be loyal to him. He will somehow turn you against the people you are closest to, be it your best friend or your own family.

You will soon take notice of his actions. You will fight over the simplest things and you will threaten to leave, to which he will respond with something like “I am nothing without you” or “I’ll kill myself if you leave.”

It will feel as if he has locked you up in a box, but you will not immediately notice these things for you have already fallen into his own illusion that he calls “love” by constantly tearing you apart just to poorly fix you again.

You will feel like you are tied to a bomb that can explode at any minute without any warning and this will cause you to be limited with your words and actions until you are no longer the girl you used to be.

He will deprive you of the love that you deserve by giving back very little to nothing after you have given him everything you’ve got.

You will try to force yourself to leave, but you can’t bring yourself to do just that because you have grown attach to his ways. You have already mixed up endearment and Stockholm syndrome.

You will be torn between leaving him and trying to make things work even if it’s clear as crystal that it won’t. There will be this constant fear in your thoughts and actions, for it might trigger something in him.

A toxic relationship destroys you in the subtlest ways. It is only when bridges have been burned and the trust you have established with important people has already been shattered, that you’ll realize how heartless a person who you thought was your everything could be.

Don’t just walk away from a toxic relationship… run. Run as fast as you can and don’t ever look back.