TAINTED LOVE:<br /> Breaking Free from an Unhealthy Relationship

it’s time to take a look at what’s really driving you to stay.

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    • Violence Hotline.
    1. Finally, if you find that things aren’t changing, you may need to consider separating from your partner.  Toxic relationships are not only painful to deal with in the short term.  Continued exposure to stress from a bad relationship is equally harmful to your physical health; leading to greater risk of heart disease, hypertension, depression and other stress related illnesses. 

    The bottom line: staying in an unhealthy relationship will continue to subject you to unhealthy behaviors that will eventually take a serious toll on your emotional and physical well-being.  Intimate relationships are not “goals”. They’re not “prizes” or “rewards for good behavior.”  They are opportunities for loving, giving, sharing, connecting and developing ever expanding degrees of mutual trust and support.  Period.

    Sil Lai Abrams is EBONY.com’s Relationship Expert and the author of No More Drama: 9 Simple Steps to Transforming a Breakdown into a Breakthrough and a board member of the National Domestic Violence Hotline.  Follow her on Twitter: @sil_lai and connect with her on Facebook. Want Sil Lai's advice? Email SilLai@ebony.com to have your love questions answered in a future column!