 Hey, sight-to-goers. Welcome back to another video. What makes a partner toxic? How do we know when to draw the line between being compassionate and being exploited? A lot of us tend to have a bad habit of easily forgiving someone's bad behavior and tossing it under the rug. But by doing so, we're actually normalizing their bad behavior and enabling them to keep behaving this way. So how do we know we're not already sacrificing our mental health for the wrong person? Here are eight warning signs that you're dating someone who's toxic for you. One, they try to control you. Does your partner tell you who you can and can't go out with? Do they dictate what you can wear and what time you should be home? Do they need to know where you are and who you're with every hour of every day? This kind of controlling behavior is a definite red flag because it shows that your partner doesn't trust you. They want to control you and keep you all to themselves, so they exert their dominance over you. But they fail to see that in doing so, they're suffocating you and disrespecting your boundaries. Two, they don't listen to you. Does your partner talk more than they listen? Is the communication in your relationship largely one-sided? You don't have much to say in your relationship because they're the ones who are always deciding where to go, what to do, and when you'll do it. They don't ask for your opinion, and they don't seem to care about what you have to say. They're only interested in talking about themselves and their lives, never bothering to ask about you and how you're doing and what's going on with you. They're self-absorbed, inconsiderate, and selfish. All toxic qualities to have in a romantic partner. Three, they manipulate you. If your partner uses sneaky ways to try to exert control over you and tricks you into giving in to their demands, it is surely a sign of there being a manipulative person. Common tactics of emotional manipulation include praying on your insecurities, giving you the cold shoulder, treating you with content, guilt-tripping you, and using your good nature against you. It's not healthy for you to be in a relationship with someone you can't trust, and you should never tolerate this kind of manipulative behavior from anyone, let alone your significant other. Four, they constantly criticize you. Does your partner always seem to have a problem with the way you do things? Do they criticize your every move and focus on every little mistake you've made? They have a backhanded compliment ready for you the moment you slip up, and they undermine all of your accomplishments. Constant criticism is detrimental for your mental health, and while you might be tempted to believe, like your partner says, that it's all good-natured fun, and that you should learn to take a joke, it's not good for your self-esteem to be with someone who's never supportive of you and doesn't believe in you. Five, they talk you down. Does your partner talk down to you all the time and belittle your ideas, feelings, and goals? If so, do you often give excuses for them and think to yourself, oh, he doesn't really mean that, or she's just in a bad mood today? This can be emotionally exhausting and toxic for your mental health. They call you names when you're fighting, dismiss your concerns, dress you down in front of other people, and don't take anything you say seriously. Not only is this kind of behavior insensitive and disrespectful, but it borders on emotional abuse. Six, they take things out on you. Toxic people don't know how to deal with their problems or work through their emotions, so they usually take it out on other people and project their negativity on those around them. You might notice this when your significant other gets upset with you for no reason, treats you with sarcasm and harsh judgment, or even throws temper tantrums when they hear bad news. They want to make you feel as miserable as they do, and they're willing to put you down just to make themselves feel better. Seven, they bring you down. Does your partner spend all their time complaining about how difficult and unfair their life is? Do they call you naive when you see the good in others, or mock you for your optimistic attitude? It's extremely challenging to live with a negative person because negativity can be contagious. If your partner is constantly weighing you down with their cynicism, sooner or later, it might rub off on you. Eight, they're never sorry. Does your significant other display a lack of compassion and remorse, no matter how much you call them out on it? A person who lacks compassion will never feel sorry for what they've done. Sure, they might apologize just to get you off their back, but it's never sincere. They don't care about the way they've hurt you or wronged you because they don't have any empathy for you or anyone else. They only care about themselves, and it's just a waste of your time trying to see the good in them and trying to redeem them for their horrible actions. Do you recognize any of these signs in your partner, or perhaps an ex? If you're trapped in a toxic relationship, it's important that you love and respect yourself enough to prioritize your own mental health and emotional well-being over them. If you found this video helpful, please remember to hit the like button and share it with those who might benefit from it. Subscribe to Psych2Go for more videos, and as always, thanks so much for watching.