- Stacy | Founder
Breaking the Cycle: Understanding and Addressing the Attraction to Toxic Partners
Contents:
"Why do I keep attracting a**holes?" I hear you scream.
If you've noticed a pattern of being with partners who bring you down, criticize you, or abuse you in various ways, it's essential to explore why this keeps happening and how you can break the cycle.
Toxic partners are individuals who often exhibit unstable behaviours and struggle to feel content and secure within a relationship, regardless of the love and support provided by their partner. Their actions are often driven by unmet needs rooted in neglectful, unloving, or abusive experiences during their childhood.
Let's take a closer look at a couple of examples to better understand why this attraction to toxic partners occurs.
Jasmine & Nick
Meet Jasmine. She grew up with a mother who was emotionally needy but emotionally unavailable to her. Whenever Jasmine tried to express her feelings, she was dismissed and made to feel selfish and insignificant. In her current relationship, her partner consistently prioritises his own needs and belittles her when she tries to communicate her anxieties or concerns. Jasmine has noticed a similar pattern in her past relationships.
Then there's Nick. He was raised in a family where his parents were highly critical. He internalized their negative judgments and developed a belief that he was inherently defective. Nick's wife continued this pattern of criticism by ridiculing his choices, and appearance, and even putting him down in front of others.
Nick has realised that his previous girlfriends also exhibited highly critical behaviour, and he often felt unable to stand up for himself.
So why do Jasmine, Nick, and many others continue to choose partners who criticise, bully, control, and demean them?
It's not merely a coincidence.
While it may be tempting to attribute these experiences to bad luck, if you find yourself consistently staying in long-term relationships with toxic individuals or repeatedly attracting such partners, it's important to recognise that this attraction may be unconscious. It's a two-way process—both you and the toxic partner are drawn to each other.
This pattern often stems from recreating familiar dynamics from the past.
Our early experiences within our families shape our understanding of intimate relationships. When we grow up in a secure and loving environment, where our needs for love and safety are met, we learn that we are deserving of respect, compassion, and good treatment from others. We develop a healthy sense of self-worth and understand that we have the right to express our opinions and have our needs met. In such cases, we are more likely to attract partners who love and respect us, treating us with care and empathy.
However, if we were raised in an environment where our needs for love and safety were neglected, with parents who were cold, volatile, critical, or even abusive, we may unknowingly choose partners who recreate similar dynamics. They behave in ways that mirror the actions of our parents, further perpetuating the patterns we experienced in our childhood.
Why do we continue to recreate these patterns?
It's important to recognize that what we learn early in life feels real and true to us, even if it causes us harm. Our beliefs and perceptions of the world become deeply ingrained, and we tend to be drawn to experiences that confirm those beliefs, regardless of the suffering they may cause us.
If learn that your feelings are insignificant and unworthy of attention, you subconsciously choose partners who disrespect and gaslight you into silence. Unconsciously, we choose partners who trigger the same emotions and responses we were accustomed to in their childhood, even if those partners also evoke intense emotions such as fear of abandonment.
So, what can you do to break the cycle of attracting toxic partners?
Identify patterns in your partner choices.
Take a moment to reflect on your current and past partners. Write down their dominant personality traits, both positive and negative. Look for common themes that emerge across these relationships. Sometimes the patterns may not be immediately obvious, so take your time to analyze the similarities and differences.
Compare partner patterns to those of your parents.
Create another list, this time with a column for each of your parents (or the parent who had the most significant impact on you). Compare their traits and behaviours with those of your partners. Look for commonalities and connections between your parents' actions and the behaviours of your partners. This exercise can be repeated with past partners as well.
Recognize potential triggers with new partners.
When meeting potential new partners, be mindful of any tendencies to be drawn to individuals who may recreate the same patterns you have experienced in the past. In the early stages of a romance, it's easy to be blinded to red flags. However, pay attention to any signs of criticism, control, or disrespect. Ask yourself if you're potentially falling for someone who embodies the same toxic traits you're trying to break free from.
Realize that there's nothing inherently wrong with you.
It's natural to question your worth and wonder if there's something inherently wrong with you when you consistently attract toxic partners. However, attracting toxic people does not mean that you are a bad, useless, or worthless person. It does indicate that you may have unmet needs and unresolved issues from your past that require attention and exploration. Seeking the help of a therapist can provide valuable support in addressing and healing these wounds.
Final Takeaway on Attraction to Toxic Partners
Breaking the cycle of attracting toxic partners takes self-reflection, self-compassion, and a commitment to healing. By understanding the patterns, recognizing the connections to your past, and seeking support when needed, you can transform your relationship dynamics and create healthier, more fulfilling connections in the future. Remember, you deserve love, respect, and happiness in your relationships, and breaking free from toxic patterns is the first step toward achieving that.
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