EMOTIONAL WOUND THESAURUS

A TOXIC RELATIONSHIP



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HELPFUL TIP:

Emotional wounds will steer a character's behavior, corrupt his worldview, and cause negative traits to form. To understand exactly how this occurs, please read our tutorial for the Wound Thesaurus.

NOTE: We realize that sometimes a wound we profile may have personal meaning, stirring up the past for some of our readers. It is not our intent to create emotional turmoil. Please know that we research each wounding topic carefully to treat it with the utmost respect.
NOTES:
A toxic relationship is one where the behaviors and attitudes of one person are consistently emotionally and/or physically damaging to the other. While many times this occurs between romantic couples, these relationships can happen between friends, co-workers, an employee and boss, a parent and child, siblings—any relationship where emotions are invested. Examples of toxic relationships are ones in which an involved person exhibits one or more of the following behaviors:

EXAMPLES:
Controlling the other person
Being jealous or possessive
Constantly lying
Getting what they want through manipulation and coercion
Physically or verbally abusing the other person, sabotaging their self-esteem
Making the other person feel small, unimportant, or devalued
Playing the victim, always blaming the other person and denying responsibility for wrongdoing
Being chronically negative (always complaining)
Cheating repeatedly on the other
Being overly perfectionistic, with unrealistic expectations for others
Being extremely competitive and needing to win at everything

WOUND CATEGORY:
Failures and Mistakes, Misplaced Trust and Betrayals

BASIC NEEDS OFTEN COMPROMISED BY THIS WOUND:

safety and security, love and belonging, esteem and recognition, self-actualization


LIES THAT MAY DEVELOP FOR CHARACTERS WITH THIS WOUND:
They can fix the broken people around them
When someone lashes out or hurts them, they shouldn't take it personally
Leaving people who need you is selfish and disloyal
They're being treated badly by people because they deserve it
Things will change when they get married (or have a baby, get away from their parents, etc.)
This is the best they can do, because no one else will give them a chance

THE CHARACTER MAY FEAR:
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POSSIBLE RESPONSES AND RESULTS:
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POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES THAT MAY RESULT:
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NEGATIVE TRAITS THAT MAY RESULT:
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TRIGGERS THAT MIGHT AGGRAVATE THIS WOUND:
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STEPS TOWARD HEALING:
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OPPORTUNITIES TO FACE OR OVERCOME THIS WOUND:
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