Hanan Parvez
Both men and women can be toxic in relationships. While the toxic behaviors of men (toxic masculinity) are well-known and frequently discussed, it’s rare to hear people talk about the toxic behaviors of women (toxic femininity). There are a few reasons for this. First, many toxic female behaviors tend to be covert. Second, society and
What is reverse body dysmorphia? Reverse body dysmorphia is when a person becomes obsessed with the false belief that they’re weaker and smaller than they really are. Even though people with this condition have average or above-average muscularity, they think they’re insufficiently muscular.1Blomeley, D., Phillipou, A., & Castle, D. J. (2018). Sizing it up: a
What is Post-infidelity Stress Disorder? Post-infidelity Stress Disorder (PISD) is inspired by the term Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While PTSD is a generic condition that can be caused by any life-threatening trauma, in PISD, infidelity is the trauma-inducing incident. The term was coined because infidelity can lead to PTSD-like symptoms in the betrayed partner.1Baucom, D.
Where there’s need, there’s manipulation Humans have a deep need to be loved. Manipulators are experts at exploiting others’ needs for selfish gain. That’s why love bombing even occurs. It’s a manipulative technique where the manipulator bombards you with attention and affection. The goal is not to build a healthy relationship but to gain power
Emotional dysregulation is the inability to handle emotions. Emotions are signals our minds send us to help us meet our needs. In this sense, they’re adaptive and enable us to navigate life. However, they can spiral out of control and become maladaptive if not appropriately handled. For example, it’s normal to feel jealous when your
You’re probably aware of the freeze response. Like the fight-and-fight response, it’s another way humans deal with stressful and traumatic events. Freezing in the face of fear allows mammals to avoid detection from a predator. It also gives an organism time to process the threat and decide a course of action. This response is usually
Neuroticism is one of the dimensions of the Big Five personality assessment, one of psychology’s most reliable personality assessments. The meaning of ‘being neurotic’ has evolved. In simple terms, it means to be emotionally unstable. A neurotic person has a greater tendency to experience ‘negative’ emotions like: They’re prone to getting stressed and, when stressed,
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a recognized mental health condition in which the sufferer experiences intrusive memories, flashbacks, and nightmares about their traumatic event. PTSD is often caused by a one-time traumatic event such as being in a war, accident, or a natural disaster. Over time, experts studying PTSD realized that traumatic experiences are not
Irritable Male Syndrome (IMS), or the ‘grumpy old man’ phenomenon, is when older men are constantly angry and irritable. Also called andropause, it’s the male version of menopause. Men with IMS seem to have a short fuse, always complaining and about to explode. While it’s not an officially recognized condition, insightful books have been written
The term ‘hoovering’ comes from the popular vacuum cleaning brand. In relationships, hoovering is the tendency of a toxic person to ‘suck in’ their victim back into the toxic relationship dynamic. While it can happen in any relationship, it’s common in established romantic relationships. Toxic and abusive relationships tend to have this cyclical pattern to