Anxiety & Toxic Relationships

Have you ever experienced a consistent feeling of unease around certain people or situations?

For me, it was a certain social gathering that had the same core group of people. It was a holiday, a birthday, a Super Bowl… that I consistently dreaded.

AND I felt obligated to attend because it was family…
It wasn’t until later that I realized that this uneasiness was actually acute, low-grade anxiety.

This anxiety was the result of toxic family relationships that had been normalized over the years.

After all, family is the sea we swim in. It can be difficult to see dysfunction when it is our ‘normal.’

The overwhelming anxiety I experienced during these gatherings was a symptom of deeper emotional wounds caused by these relationships.

🔹I felt uneasy

🔹I felt unusually self-conscious

🔹I left feeling drained and emotionally depleted

🔹I was frequently unable to sleep after gatherings

I lived like this for years, no, decades.

It wasn’t until I became increasingly aware of my discomfort, uneasiness, and not-so-low grade anxiety that I began to make different decisions. Decisions that would empower me and help me break free from toxic family relationships.

I began to observe my thoughts and emotions around these gatherings. I identified the story I attached to myself, the people and events.

By doing so, I was able to identify how…..

M𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡.

Awareness empowered me to make decisions that allowed me to do better in these scenarios.

Some of the decisions I made included;

🦋 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐈 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

🦋 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐈 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬

🦋 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐠𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞

🦋 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥

🦋 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥l! ☺️

Through these decisions,

𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬.

As I began to understand the deeper childhood wounds that caused anxiety, I was able to go to a deeper level of healing.

So much of therapy is hinged on how we relate to ourselves and how we relate to others.

In the case of toxic family relationships, the stories we tell ourselves may include a sense of obligation or duty, despite the negative impact on our mental and emotional well-being.

It is crucial to recognize these stories and actively work to rewrite them.

Awareness helps us identify our thoughts and emotions, and it is essential to observe how we relate to ourselves in these scenarios.

We must recognize the impact of toxic relationships on our mental and emotional health and make empowering decisions to prioritize our well-being.

By identifying toxic relationships, we can take steps to set boundaries and make decisions that prioritize our mental and emotional well-being.

Through awareness and active decision-making, we can break free from the cycle of toxic relationships and start living our lives to the fullest.

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.

If you feel stuck in overwhelm and anxiety, or just need to get some solid ideas about how to lay boundaries with toxic people, schedule a complimentary discovery call

Call or text for a free consultation at (813) 540-6468.

Sending you LOVE and LIGHT 🙏🏼💕