Healthy, Unhealthy and Abusive Behaviors in Relationships
What is the difference between healthy, unhealthy and abusive behaviors in relationships?
Healthy is...
- Talking about feelings, speaking to personal experiences and empathizing with a partner’s experience.
- When people in a relationship are respected and listened to, despite any differences.
- When people talk respectfully to each other when there are disagreements.
- When people are purposeful about intimacy and communicate honestly and openly about physical affection and sex.
- When partners trust and support each other to spend time with others they care about.
Unhealthy is…
- When a person’s feelings or needs are ignored and disrespected.
- When disagreements often turn into fights.
- Not having the opportunity or comfort to explore or communicate feelings within the relationship.
- When people feel embarrassed or unwilling to express how they feel because their partner may not listen or care.
- When there is a lot of jealousy in the relationship when one partner talks to or spends time with other people they care about.
Abusive is…
- The need to control/manipulate others’ thoughts and feelings.
- When a partner is actively disrespected, ignored, demeaned and their ideas and feelings are treated with contempt.
- When someone is afraid to disagree because they don’t want to run the risk of their partner’s anger, abuse and/or violence. If there is disagreement, the typical response is belittling and/or abusive.
- When someone’s wants and needs are ignored and they are pushed into situations that frighten and/or degrade them.
- When one partner is constantly accused of flirting when they interact with other people or ordered not to see or talk to other people they care about.