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Everyone deserves to feel loved and appreciated in their relationship. But sadly, some people never saw healthy relationships modeled to them in childhood, and because of that, they end up falling in love with someone toxic. What’s even more heartbreaking is that it can be incredibly difficult for women to leave an unhealthy relationship. In fact, it takes 7 attempts on average for a woman to escape a toxic or violent relationship.
According to psychotherapist Dr. Zoe Shaw, strong women stay in these terrible relationships for a variety of reasons. She notes that it’s not always due to low self-esteem; sometimes, it’s because they’re used to working hard. If they give their all in all aspects of life, they might not be willing to give up on a relationship easily.
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It’s also common for women to fixate on the positive characteristics of their partner, rather than the negative ones. In general, this can be a good thing, as it’s best to look on the bright side in most situations. But there’s a fine line in relationships, because you don’t want to start excusing your partner’s toxic behaviors.
Just because they were (or seemed) loving, affectionate, patient, and kind in the beginning doesn’t mean that they truly are. They might have been love bombing you or simply showing their best side until you were committed to them. Remember that when someone shows you who they are, you should believe them. Don’t hold onto some glimmer of hope that they’ll change someday or go back to how they used to be.
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While it’s devastating to hear that women have been told such atrocious things by their partners, it’s encouraging to know that they finally decided to leave. Nowadays, especially, women certainly don’t need a man in their life unless they’re actually benefiting from his presence. In fact, many women are perfectly content being single. And if they’re going to start dating, their standards will be incredibly high, as they should be.
We would love to hear your thoughts on these stories in the comments below, pandas. Then, if you’re interested in checking out another article from Bored Panda featuring similar stories, look no further than right here.
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