Toxic people will make you feel crazy. Like you’re overreacting. Like you’re too emotional for your own good. Like you don’t have a reason to be upset with them over something they’ve done. Like you’re the one who is in the wrong. Like you’re the one who is being a bad partner. Like you’re the one who needs to change your behavior if the relationship is going to last.

Toxic people will make you feel stupid. Like you always say the wrong thing. Like you always make the wrong decisions. Like you can’t get anything right. Like there is something deeply, unrepairable wrong with you.

Toxic people will make you feel worthless. Like you aren’t worth their time. Like you aren’t worth their attention. Like you aren’t worth their love. Like you’re the one who is dating out of your league. Like you’re lucky they’ve decided to stick around for this long when they could do so much better than you.

Toxic people will make you feel guilty. Like you shouldn’t have started an argument with them when they barely did anything wrong. Like you shouldn’t have ruined their day when they’ve already been under so much stress lately. Like you shouldn’t have even thought about leaving them when they’ve done so much for you. Like you don’t have the right to be upset by even their worst mistakes.

Toxic people will make you feel jealous. Like you’re competing with their exes. Like you’re competing with their friends. Like you’re competing with their parents. Like you’re competing with their work. Like you’re competing with every other aspect of their life, because it seems like they pay more attention to everything else except you.

Toxic people will make you feel insecure. Like you aren’t pretty enough. Like you aren’t intelligent enough. Like you aren’t funny enough. Like you aren’t fun enough. Like you aren’t enough.

Toxic people will make you feel uncomfortable. Afraid. Cautious. Like you’re walking on eggshells. Like you have to lie in order to avoid arguments. Like you have to sneak behind their back to do average things a regular partner wouldn’t be upset about. Like you have to pick out every word you say carefully, because if you say the wrong thing, they’re going to explode.

Toxic people will make you feel ashamed of yourself. Like you’re a failure. Like you’re a burden. Like you’re making their life more difficult. Like you’re the one who is the problem. Like you’re the one who needs to change. Like you’re the one who needs a wakeup call.

No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, toxic people will make you feel miserable. Even if you love them, even if you cannot picture your world without them, you have to understand how dangerous it is to stay with them. You have to understand this is not real love. This is not safe love. You deserve better. You deserve to walk away from them. You do not deserve to feel this way.