Relationships are an important part of our lives whether they're friendly, familial, romantic, and casual. Being social creatures, most humans depend on social interaction to function. Relationships are intended to mutually benefit the parties involved so that they can receive social support, financial aid, information, and everything else that helps us make it in life. Unfortunately, some relationships end up hindering us more than helping us, and it can be difficult to break away from a negative relationship, close relationships in particular. Sometimes it抯 even difficult to recognize that a relationship is unhealthy, but it抯 important to detect unhealthy relationships in your life so that you can protect yourself and continue to grow as a person.

Unhealthy relationships aren't always with someone that you outright dislike or someone who is explicitly hurting you. Sometimes the other person doesn't even mean to foster a bad relationship but unhealthy relationships can develop regardless of intention. Think about how you feel in this relationship. Do you feel supported, or rejected? Are you happy or unhappy? This might seem intuitive but you can overlook what抯 going on when you're trying to make things work out or give the other person the benefit of the doubt. In a relationship that is based on social interaction, there should be equity in terms of benefit, respect and contribution. You should be in the relationship because you genuinely want to be, not because you have to. In unhealthy relationships you抣l feel obligated to the other person and get the short end of the stick.

It takes a lot of courage to address unhealthy relationships because it involves standing up to the other person who won't be happy with your decision. If you want to talk to the other person, make sure to focus on your feelings rather than what that person has done to you. You should also both be in a calm mood so that you can discuss it rationally. If the other person truly cares, they抣l want to make things right. However, if the person refuses to cooperate or denies that the relationship is unhealthy, then it might be best to cut off contact with that person.

It's healthy to have several relationships in different aspects of our lives that can support us when things are tough in one aspect. When you're making the decision to end a relationship, outside support from your other relationships can help a lot. It's hard if your life was centered on this one relationship, because if it ends you have no one else to turn to. Talking to other people can help you get a better perspective on your situation so that you can abandon this unhealthy relationship and focus on more positive ones. But in your other relationships, remember to be mindful of your own actions towards others as well. We are all capable of being the aggressor as well as the victim.