11 Reasons It’s Hard to Let Go of an Unhealthy Relationship

By: Roxy Zarrabi Psy.D. 

Unhealthy relationships can negatively impact your mental health. Additionally, they increase your risk of postpartum complications such as postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety. It's important to learn if you are in an unhealthy relationship and how to navigate those difficult dynamics. Sometimes it's best to leave those relationships, so make sure to speak with a professional if you find yourself struggling with ending an unhealthy relationship

Here are 11 reasons why it may be difficult to leave an unhealthy relationship:

1. You fear being alone and assume being with anyone is better than being alone.

2. The relationship is activating an attachment wound, so letting go feels like a significant threat to you and feels impossible (even though it isn’t).

3. You’ve already invested a significant amount of time and energy in this relationship and fear starting over.

4. You are holding onto hope about your partner’s potential rather than the actual person in front of you.

5. You attach your worth to your relationship status.

6. You don’t know who you are outside of this relationship.

7. Your partner is emotionally abusive.

8. You have been conditioned to over-function in a relationship and fix, save, or fight for it at the expense of yourself.

9. You’re confusing chemistry for compatibility.

10. You are hooked on the highs and lows of the relationship.

11. You believe “relationships are hard” and this is just a rough patch.