 Family is where you're meant to be most free. Don't let blood chain you down. Michelle Maline, consultant psychologist Dr. Elena Toroni says that not all toxic behaviors are apparent. Over time, an unhealthy family dynamic can become normalized and you may not even realize it. When we were children, we could not distinguish between right and wrong, healthy and unhealthy behavior. In this situation, a child would normalize toxic behavior if raised in a toxic environment. With that said, here are five signs to look out for a toxic family dynamic. Abuse. Abuse of any kind, whether it be physical, mental or emotional is a clear sign of a toxic environment. Licensed marriage and family therapist, Rachel Tsar, demonstrates this point clearly, with abuse being at the very end of the toxicity spectrum and undoubtedly causing the most damage. According to therapist Claire Jack, PhD, abusive behavior is not called out within toxic families. Instead, you'll be treated as if you deserved to be abused. In order to keep the family's reputation intact, you may be instructed not to speak about the abuse. Role reversal. Let's recall your childhood memories. Have you ever been the parent to your parents and provided emotional support to them? Perhaps you run around the house to take care of your younger siblings and perform other adult responsibilities. Dr. Kara Goodwin, a licensed clinical psychologist, says this family dynamic becomes problematic when a child is expected to perform tasks that are inappropriate for their developmental level and when the parents' needs consistently take priority over those of the child. This is known as parentification, in which a child is forced to take on the role of an adult. The role of a caretaker is often pushed onto children by their parents or become the family mediator. Physical symptoms. According to Dr. Elena Taroni, emotional distress affects both the body and the mind. Take a closer look at what you feel and what changes happen to your body while spending time with specific family members. True, if you experience back and neck pain, feel drained, have digestive problems, tightness in your stomach and jaw clenching, you may want to rule out the other possibilities of other physical illnesses. However, if you have completed a body checkup and are found to be physically healthy, this may indicate that the environment you're in now or your family dynamic isn't working for you. It might be time to look into your mental health as well. Lack of boundaries. Have you ever found your parents intruding into your safe space by reading your diary? Maybe they've also listened into your phone conversations with your best friend. If you answered yes, it can indicate that there is a lack of boundaries between you and your parents. In our article, Dr. Taroni explains that healthy relationships also have a sense of autonomy. Family members struggle to develop a healthy level of independence and autonomy when boundaries are blurred or not clearly defined. Troubled relationships. You find it hard to get close to other people. Have you ever found yourself self-sabotaging when you're in a romantic relationship? Licensed marriage and family therapist, Rachel Zarr, says that a toxic family can even affect your attachment style. Getting stuck in a difficult and toxic family dynamic may manifest itself in other relationships. Dr. Taroni adds further that children from dysfunctional households frequently end up acting out similar unhealthy patterns in adult life, either because they have a subconscious desire to repair the dysfunction they witnessed as children or because it feels familiar. For example, in your childhood, your parents were unpredictable and emotionally insensitive. One moment they were affectionate, the next moment they were leaving you hungry for connection. As a child, you may not have always been shown love, causing you to develop an anxious attachment and experience difficulty trying to rely on others. Can you relate to any of these signs? If you do, it's important to be aware of how this toxicity affects you in order to grieve, heal, and break the pattern once and for all. When we've attempted to repair the family dynamic but haven't gotten far, we might feel defeated. But sometimes healing entails learning to let go and accepting that we may not have the family love we seek and instead focusing on learning to love ourselves. No matter what you suffered, the abuse was not your fault. Not as an innocent child, teenager, nor as an adult. Dana Arcuri. If you enjoyed this video, please like, subscribe, and share with friends. Until next time, thanks for watching. And remember, you matter.