What's a Toxic Relationship and Are You in One?

The mind-body connection, in all it’s interconnected glory, explains why the stress of toxic relationships is so detrimental to our overall wellness.

The mind-body connection, in all it’s interconnected glory, explains why the stress of toxic relationships is so detrimental to our overall wellness. When we are in a healthy relationship with another person, we feel supported, loved, respected, and cared for. We feel that no matter what challenges we face in life, we have a teammate, a best friend, and a lover to go through it all with. A healthy relationship has an incredibly positive impact on both our physical and emotional health. Strong relationships are shown to to strengthen immunity, increase lifespan, and offer us a safe space to grow. 

 

“Bad relationships are like a bad investment. No matter how much you put into it you’ll never get anything out of it. Find someone that’s worth investing in.”
We all encounter toxic people, but not all will remain trapped within the unhealthy dynamic. The term “toxic relationship” probably makes you think of a narcissistic ex or a high-maintenance friend. But bullies, whose power comes from hijacking your emotions, exist everywhere- within families, social groups, the workplace, and out in the world. All too often, it is the sensitive, empathetic personality types that gets pulled into the drama. Most toxic relationships start off as whirlwinds of passion and excitement, and we use the memories of these early moments of lust and intense joy as a reason to stay when things start to take a turn toward the unhealthy side.

Here are some signs that may indicate you are in a toxic relationship.

  1. Possessiveness: When someone is jealous to a point where they try to control who you spend time with and what you do when you’re not with them.
  2. Isolation: When someone keeps you away from friends, family, or other people.
  3. You notice a significant change to your behavioural patters: Your performance at work is affected as the relationship is causing you distress or taking up all of your focus and energy. You feel more tired, unmotivated, and disinterested in life outside of your relationships.
  4. You experience fear around expressing your own feelings or opinions.
  5. You are repeatedly lied to and made to feel that you are being “crazy” when you question their actions. This is also known as gaslighting.
  6. You don’t feel safe to be yourself in your relationship so you begin to mold yourself into what you think your partner wants you to be.
  7. Belittling: When someone does and says things to make you feel bad about sometime you say, do, or your achievements. 
  8. Volatility: When someone has a really strong, unpredictable reaction that makes you feel scared, confused or intimidated.
  9. You find yourself trapped in repetitive negative cycles.
  10. You lie to your friends and family about the details of your relationship to protect your partner and their ‘integrity’.
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Dates

– High in Disease-Fighting Antioxidants, such as flavonoids, carotenoids, and phenolic acid, which all have anti-inflammatory properties.
 
– High in fiber, which benefits your digestive health and promotes regular bowel movements.
 
-Eating dates helps improve brain function by lowering inflammatory markers, such as interleukin.
 
– Dates have the potential to help with blood sugar regulation due to their low glycemic index, fiber and antioxidants.

Citrus Fruits

Sweet Potatoes

Parsnips

LEMONS & ORANGES

Citrus Fruits

– Rich in vitamin C which is needed to form and maintain healthy skin, bones, blood vessels and connective tissue.
 
-Plays an important role in supporting the immune system and also acts as an antioxidant that might help protect cells against the effects of free radicals and fight inflammation. 
 
-Full of soluble fiber that can help lower LDL cholesterol, consequently reducing cardiovascular disease. 
 
– Abundant in multiple other nutrients, including potassium, folate, calcium, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, magnesium, and copper.
 

Sweet Potatoes

Parsnips

Kale

Parsnips

– Are highly nutritious, and supply many antioxidants, which are health-promoting compounds that help prevent oxidative stress and decrease damage to your cells.
 
– Parsnips are a great source of both soluble and insoluble fiber. Fiber moves through your gastrointestinal tract undigested, helping to get things moving and optimizing digestive health.
 
– Low in calories yet rich in fiber, parsnips make an excellent addition to a healthy weight loss diet.

Garlic

– Garlic is known to boost the function of the immune system and combat sickness, including the common cold.
– The active compounds in garlic reduces blood pressure.
– Contains antioxidants that may help prevent alzheimer’s disease and dementia because oxidative damage from free radicals contributes to the aging process.
– At high doses, the sulfur compounds in garlic have been shown to protect against organ damage from heavy metal toxicity.

Sweet Potatoes

– The fiber and antioidants in sweet potatoes are advantageous to gut health.
 
– Sweet potatoes offer various antioxidants, which may help protect against certain types of cancers.
 
– They are incredibly rich in beta-carotene, the antioxidant responsible for the vegetables bright orange colour.
 
– Full of vitamin A which is critical to a healthy immune system.

Parsnips

Kale

Garlic

Kale

– Kale is loaded with powerful antioxidants like quercetin and kaempferol. Antioxidants are substances that help counteract oxidative damage by free radicals in the body. 
 
– Kale can help lower cholesterol, which may reduce the risk of heart disease.
 
– Kale is among the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet.
 
-Very high in beta-carotene, an antioxidant that the body can turn into vitamin A.
 
– A great plant-based source of calcium, a nutrient that is very important for bone health and plays a role in all sorts of cellular functions.

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