Believe me, you won’t always know that you are in a relationship with a cunning, lying, wicked, narcissistic and a toxic person. They’ve been born that way. Some of them have even worked hard to become those people. They know exactly how to buy your attention with a lie and make it look like they are telling the truth.

They know exactly what they are doing.

You may date this person, hang out with them 24/7 and still not notice that they have some kind of hidden agenda. The thing is, most of the time they are charming, loving and very considerate. But underneath that mask, there is something truly wicked.

Their main goal is to gain total control over you and your emotions. By doing that they own you. As time passes by, they do everything to chip away at your confidence and sense of self until you start to blame yourself for everything. The more they push you down, the more convinced you are that you are the troubled one.

Well, news flash. You aren’t. Your judgment is clouded because the person next to you is giving their best efforts to confuse you and make you go crazy.

You may not be aware of what is happening, but know that if you are experiencing these 9 things on a daily basis, you are in a toxic, abusive relationship:

1. Punishment by giving the silent treatment. Don’t ignore these signs. If your partner is constantly withholding eye contact and any important conversation, know that he is punishing you. He is controlling you by withholding information, affection, understanding, and appreciation.

2. Blaming and accusing. Another sign that you are a victim of emotional abuse is the sudden shift of responsibility onto you for every issue that you two face in your relationship. No matter what they are telling you, you cannot and should not be blamed for every little thing that concerns both of you. Release yourself from that victim identity and start speaking.

3. Contradicting. No matter what you say, they constantly disapprove of your opinions and discards your suggestions. A toxic person could never see those small things the same way you see them. Everything is always perceived in a negative way. Whatever you say, they will find the contra arguments to wear you down and discourage you.

4.Bad, offensive humor. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that their jokes are harmless. Everything is a part of their master plan. Their bad, offensive and disparaging humor is verbal abuse disguised as jokes. If they tease you, humiliate you in front of others, make sarcastic comments about your insecurities, they are not being funny. They are being cruel and inconsiderate. Don’t ignore those red flags.

5. Blocking and twisting the words. When you notice that they are trying to block the conversation flow or rudely interrupt your thought by mentioning a completely different subject, know that you are dealing with a partner who doesn’t respect your opinion. This is one of the signs that you are experiencing emotional abuse.

6.Constant judging and criticizing. They criticize you and judge your actions, but they pass it off as advice. Don’t be mistaken. That’s not constructive criticism. They only do that to mess with your mind and make you doubt yourself.

7. Forgetting the important things. We’ve all been through this with our partners. I mean, forgetting something is not entirely a problem. We all forget. That’s because we are all human beings. But there is a difference between forgetting once and not bothering to give a damn about important things. Know the difference.

8. Not respecting anything you say, do or believe in. You have to be really broken inside to not notice this red flag. When a person undermines you, minimizes your efforts, discourages you by criticizing you, or trivializes your ideas, it is clear that they don’t care about you. In fact, it is crystal clear that you are with a person who is emotionally abusing you.

9. Crazy-making and driving you to the brink of insanity. This is usually a combination of denying the truth, twisting your words, frustrating you by making you the fool, dramatizing, and confusing you until you finally give up and admit being responsible for something that you did not do.

Wake up. You shouldn’t let someone take advantage of your vulnerability. If you are going through some of these things, know that you are experiencing emotional abuse.

Don’t hesitate to ask for help.

Loving someone genuinely means being willing to risk getting hurt. It means being willing to risk being rejected. It means being willing to risk not being loved in return. Why?

Because love is never a smooth journey. Love is illogical. Love knows no rules. Love is full of questions and doubts.

How many times have you thought to yourself: What if he/she disappoints me? What if he/she breaks my heart? What if he/she gives up on me and leaves me? What if he/she only wants to take advantage of me?

How many times have you sabotaged a relationship before it even began to blossom into something amazing and honest with questions like these?

Perhaps you’ve had your heart broken many times or perhaps you’ve never given yourself the opportunity to love truly and unconditionally so as to protect yourself from getting hurt.

Regardless of what the right reason is, it’s easy for all of us to become conditioned to never allowing anyone to enter our hearts. Because it’s difficult to love someone and let them love you when negative thoughts and questions, like the ones mentioned above, are wrapped like chains around your heart.  

However, here’s the truth: When you close your heart to the risk of getting hurt, you deprive yourself of finding true love. You deprive yourself of finding genuine happiness. You deprive yourself of living the life you deserve to live.

Yes, heartbreak is tough, but it’s not nearly as tough as the life you create for yourself when you don’t allow anyone to enter your heart out of fear of getting your heart broken.

Therefore, remember: Being genuinely in love with someone means being willing to take the risk.

Loving someone genuinely means being willing to accept the fact that your relationship won’t be smooth and effortless. It means being willing to accept the fact that your heart will possibly be broken.

Loving someone honestly and unconditionally means accepting them exactly the way they are. It means embracing their annoying habits, whims, insecurities, and fears. It means not judging them for their weaknesses and imperfections.

Being genuinely in love with someone means being in love with the way they view the world, no matter how different it is from the way you perceive the world.

Being truly in love with someone means being willing to accept the fact that you will have to face many difficult challenges, problems, and obstacles. It means being willing to accept the fact that you’ll have to overcome many temptations and trials.

Being genuinely in love with someone means giving them your heart and soul, even when you’re afraid that you might get rejected or hurt, because love is worth the risk.

Yes, love is worth every risk. Love is worth every risk regardless of what the outcome will be.  Why?

Because when you’re genuinely in love with someone, you don’t let the fear of getting hurt or rejected make you hold back loving them. Instead, you love them with everything you’ve got. You love them deeply, madly, unconditionally, endlessly. 

Yes, it’s true. Men and women display their love and affection in completely different ways. But it is not true that men don’t show their emotions. It is not true that they are heartless, cold and indifferent when it comes to showing their love.  

That is, in fact, is the biggest stereotype you’ve ever heard about men.

Men love from the bottom of their hearts.

And if you’ve found a real man, you’d know that when they love, there is nothing stronger and purer than their love. Here are 8 ways a man expresses his emotions when he finds the one, true love of his life:

1. He is not afraid to make a sacrifice for the one he loves. Because let’s admit it. Making sacrifices is hard. Until we meet the one true love of our life. Then it comes naturally. From that moment on, the only thing that makes us happy is seeing our loved one smiling.

2. He pays attention and listens to you. They say women are much better listeners. I don’t agree. I believe that if that’s your opinion, then perhaps you haven’t found the right man. A man who truly loves a woman will pay attention to every little thing. He will listen and he will ask. Because he genuinely cares.

3. He opens his heart and shows his vulnerable heart. When a man finds the one, true love of his life, he doesn’t hesitate to show her exactly who he is. A man in love is not afraid to be completely vulnerable in front of the woman he loves.

4. He loves every version of you. One of the signs that a man has finally found the love of his life is his unconditional love towards his partner. His acceptance, his devotion and most importantly, his affection. A man who has fallen in love with you will cherish every version of you, even the flawed one.

5. He is proud of the person you are. A man in love knows the value of the precious gem beside him. He is proud to be with a woman who works hard on herself and on her love relationships. That is exactly what inspires him to never stop chasing his dreams.

6. He goes out of his way to protect what you two have. If you’ve found your knight on a white horse, you already know how much he is capable of nourishing the sacred connection that the two of you share.

7. He fights with you. He fights because his feelings are strong. He fights because he doesn’t want to lose you. He fights because you are the best thing that ever happened to him. He fights because he cared. He fights, but he always finds a way to sort things out and makeup.

8. He treats your loved ones with respect. This is perhaps one of the most important signs that a man has found his true love. It is simple. When a man loves, he cares for his partner. Therefore, everything that is important to his woman, becomes by default, important to them.