Anyone is subject to getting into a toxic relationship, loving or not. To make matters worse, people often don't even realize that their partner has controlling behavior, as these signs can be subtle yet dangerous. With that in mind, we prepared this article with common signs of a toxic relationship.
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Many of us visualize a controlling partner as someone who openly berates everyone in their path, is physically aggressive, or constantly issues threats or ultimatums. While these signs are really worrisome, there are many additional signs that can appear quite differently.
4 subtle yet very common signs that your partner is controlling
Controlling people use a whole arsenal of tools to dominate their partners. Sometimes emotional manipulation is complex enough that the person being controlled doesn't even realize what's going on. Check out some behaviors below:
- Isolates you from friends and family
It may start out subtly, but it's usually the first step for a controlling person. Their goal is to pull you out of their support network, therefore, so that you are less likely or able to dump them.
- Veiled or open threats
Some people think that threats need to be physical in nature to be problematic. But there are threats that can be just as emotionally manipulative as the threat of physical violence. For example, a person may be threatened with losing their home, access to their children, or financial support if they leave (or are left by) their controlling or abusive partner. Whether or not that happens is just the controller's way of getting what it wants.
- Use guilt as a gimmick
Many controlling people are skilled at making their partner's own emotions work in their favor. These people manipulate your feelings and make you feel guilty about everyday events, just to have you under control.
- Hyperactive jealousy, accusations or paranoia
A partner's jealousy can even be considered cute at the beginning of a relationship, but depending on how it occurs, it should also be viewed carefully. If this person sees every interaction you have as flirting or blames you for innocent interactions, he must be insecure, anxious, competitive, or even paranoid. So be aware that if this pattern becomes present and constant in your relationship, these controlling people are probably trying to have control over you too.
