How Bad Relationships Affect Your Health

You might know, or at least assume, that being in a relationship improves your health and length of life. That's true most of the time, with the exception of toxic relationships. The health benefits of partnerships are overstated, as anyone who has gone through a terrible divorce, coped with challenging parents or children, or had a backstabbing friend will attest. A person's negative influence on our well-being is reflected in the stress and difficulties they bring into our life.

What Research Tells Us

In a 2007 study, researchers examined the quality of relationships between 9,000 men and women working in the British Civil Service. Participants were asked to answer questions on their intimate relationships and the challenges they face. The health of the participants was also rigorously checked.

Even after controlling for characteristics like body mass index and social support, people who reported having "adverse" intimate connections had a 34% higher chance of getting cardiac issues. A rise of that magnitude is significant. Newer studies, such as a 2016 study from the University of Michigan, corroborate this conclusion by highlighting the fact that "stress and [negative] relationship quality directly effect the cardiovascular system."

Social isolation is linked to inflammation and hypertension. 

Inflammation and high blood pressure have been linked to being socially isolated. In 2016, researchers summarized findings from the previous two decades to draw parallels between social isolation and sedentary behavior during adolescence, both of which increase the risk of inflammation. Social isolation may be even more of a risk factor for hypertension (high blood pressure) than clinical variables like diabetes, according to the same study.

Prolonged conflict with other people 

In a poll conducted over the course of two years, over 650 participants reported that prolonged conflict with other people was highly connected with lower self-rated health and more health difficulties. The immune system takes a serious hit whenever there's stress in one's life, whether that stress is the result of a bad relationship with a bad person or a demanding job.

When a Bad Relationship Goes Unacknowledged

It's not good for you to stuff your emotions, especially negative ones like wrath and resentment. One study found that the bigger the discrepancy between partners' anger management strategies, the higher the chance of early mortality for both partners.

There are certain partnerships when one partner is content but the other is clearly unhappy. Conflict is inevitable in addressing this issue, but it need not be the end of a partnership.

Relationships can be strengthened and mended via constructive conflict resolution. The only thing worse than disagreement that hasn't been resolved is a poorly executed attempt to do so. Any relationship you have will be impacted by your method of dispute resolution. Couples counseling or individual therapy might be quite useful if you're experiencing severe conflict.

How to Handle Bad Relationships

Spending time with loved ones is beneficial. Avoiding isolation has numerous health benefits, including a longer life span and less risk of cognitive decline. But investing in less-than-ideal relationships might have a deleterious effect on your physical well-being. Spend as much time as possible with the people you enjoy being with, and try to limit your time with those who are a negative influence.

Some bad people, especially close relatives, are unfortunately unavoidable. If so, try these methods of stress reduction so you can move on from these experiences with relative ease. The negative effects that interactions with challenging people might have on your health and happiness can be mitigated by learning effective coping strategies.