 Do you often feel anxious or un-edged? Does this tend to happen whenever you're around certain people in your life? Just as a home, workplace, or school should be physically safe and free from hazards, so should the close relationships in your life be safe and free from potential emotional damage. It's important to be wary of judgment, excessive criticism, and anger, and to pay attention to the signs that you feel emotionally unsafe. This way you may sooner be able to find or create a safer, healthier, and happier space for you. Here are 5 signs you feel emotionally unsafe. 1. You frequently feel anxious. Do you feel anxious around certain people? Annoying feeling of anxiety and unease is one that can't be easily ignored. Perhaps this may even be what made you begin to suspect that you might be feeling emotionally unsafe. Do you frequently feel un-edged, like you're walking on eggshells to avoid conflict and anger from someone? Do you often worry about what might set them off or when they're going to snap? These two are all key signs you're feeling emotionally unsafe. 2. You feel judged and bad about yourself. Fulfilling relationships, especially partnerships, are meant to make you feel good about yourself and who you are. Is there someone you're not feeling accepted by? Do you often feel judged and criticized by them instead of accepted? You may have received so much criticism, judgment, and blame that by now you've become overly self-critical as well. You may also find yourself often filled with self-doubt. If you are unable to be yourself without being judged, then now is the time to recognize that this is yet another sign that something more is going on. 3. You can't express or be yourself. Are you single or in a relationship? In an emotionally safe relationship, romantic or otherwise, you should feel comfortable enough to speak your mind and be yourself. And you should feel heard and understood. This goes for friendships as well. Do you feel like you can't share your thoughts and feelings with someone you're close to? Are you reluctant to express yourself and end up feeling unable to voice your needs, boundaries, and feelings? Perhaps you're afraid that this person or the people around you will react poorly, criticize you, or even leave you. Experience with this person may have discouraged you greatly from expressing and being yourself. 4. You can't trust them. Emotionally safe relationships are grounded in mutual trust. Do you instead feel like you can't trust your partner? Do you feel worn out or on edge from being constantly suspicious of them? This mistrust can come in different forms, such as suspicions they'll cheat on you or leave you. Or what could they be thinking about you? Do they mean what they say? Do they have ulterior motives or selfish reasons for their actions? When you're feeling emotionally unsafe, you may find yourself expecting people to hurt you or generally expecting the worst of them instead of the best. 5. You feel disconnected from them. Is there someone you feel disconnected from? Maybe it's more than one person. Do you perhaps feel more fear and apprehension than fun and positivity? It's normal in all types of relationships to have ups and downs and to sometimes have disagreements or feel upset with each other. However, if you constantly feel that disconnect and tension and you feel negativity more than affection and support from them, then it's possible that you feel not only unhappy but emotionally unsafe as well. So, how many signs do you recognize in your life? Emotional safety can be worked on and cultivated, and while it can be improved on, all parties involved have to want to work over time. It is equally important to work on creating an emotionally safe place with loved ones as it is to recognize when it may be time to move forward from the people who are causing you significant emotional distress. Remember that your emotional safety and happiness should be top priority. If you feel you or someone you know may need support, or a way out of an emotionally unsafe and potentially abusive relationship, please do not hesitate to seek help from trusted loved ones whom you do feel safe with, as well as a qualified mental health professional. We've also listed resources in the description box below. If you found this video helpful, don't forget to like and share it, and let us know what you think in the comments down below.