It's possible to fall in love with somebody who doesn't treat us well, who makes us feel worse about ourselves, who doesn't hold the same respect for us as we do for them, or who has such a dysfunctional life themselves that they threaten to bring us down with them.
There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.
I have walked away from friendships when I've realized that someone smiles to someone's face and talks about them the minute they walk out of a room. I have no room in my life for that kind of negative energy anymore.
When you meet a lot of people and you date somebody, or you're just in a relationship with friends, lovers, business, or whatever it may be, there are people that are just toxic to you, and you don't even know it yourself.
A lot of times, when parents overdiscipline their children, especially when they're queer, their intention isn't to hurt them. They think they're saving their children from harm. But they don't realize that they're causing harm, that they're doing to their kids exactly what they're afraid of the world doing to them.
Mum's serial misbehavior over the years had driven me, despairing, to write her scolding - occasionally scalding letters.
In my relationship, I was giving myself away to make the relationship better, but in actuality, wasn't doing better by doing that. I became less of a man.
I slept with my mother until I was nine years old. It was OK for the first few years, and then I don't know what happened. I just couldn't do it anymore. I mean, sleeping with the same woman, night after night. Boring!
I can't have my family in my life because they are abusive, and I don't have control over that. There is an abusive culture in my family, and I have to turn away from it.
Everybody's been in harsh relationships.
I had a very, very difficult relationship with my mother, who was supremely self-centred. She was hilariously self-centred. She did not really take interest in anything that didn't immediately affect her.
If anybody can harm you, it's going to be the people who are closest.
My family has never been there for me. They expect things because we're blood.
Lis and I didn't talk for a year. I was in a relationship that wasn't good for me. I became isolated. I had nobody anymore, I only had my relationship.
I think I'm prone to not being a good guy in relationships.
I've always felt it's ridiculous to say, of any of the females in my life: You're my friend, you're my wife, you're my girlfriend, you're my co-worker. This is your box, and you're not allowed to stray outside of it.
Expressing yourself when he takes for granted doesn't work.
I realized I had been keeping people around even when deep down I knew they were bad for me. I had overridden myself.
The lack of exposure to right perspective has caused me to be in abusive relationships. When a boy stubbed cigarette on my leg, I thought it was out of love. You know why? Because our films taught us slapping in the face was a way of expressing love.
Damaged people gravitate towards damaged people.
I used to let other people's struggles affect my happiness. If they weren't happy, there was no way I was going to be happy. The opposite was also true: If I wasn't happy, I didn't want anyone around me to be happy.
The primary symptom of a controller is denial, that is I can't see its symptoms in myself.
I still find trusting people quite hard. I've got a couple of mates that I do let in, but that's it. It's something I've got to sort out - I cut people off.
Don't paint a nasty picture of your exes. We'll justifiably wonder what made you stay in those heinous situations in the first place.
There have been a couple specific instances where I've felt like I couldn't survive without interacting with a certain person. I've been involved with some pretty manipulative people who have told me the same thought: that I can't live without them.
