Relationship Problems

“What if a person is toxic but you’re not able to detach from them?”

Marie Osmeña
2 min readJan 28, 2025
a slogan let go spelled with letter dice on white background
Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels

We cannot judge people who find it hard to let go of someone toxic because we all live differently. For some, letting toxic people go is just a piece of a cake. However, in other’s cases, it might be a battle between life and death to let go of someone despite the toxicity. Here’s why:

Research shows that there are factors that can affect a person’s emotional detachment with someone. These are the level of attachment, the nature of the relationship, past experiences and individual coping mechanisms.

Attachment level is something most people find difficult to control. The longer time you spend with someone, the attachment level also gets deeper. So if you’ve been with someone for so long, detaching from them might take time as well.

Relationship nature is the type of relationship you have with the person. There are kinds of relationships that are built on emotional intimacy, friendship and physical attachment. Your ability to let go of your relationship also depends on those kinds mentioned above.

Past experiences are what your previous experiences were with the person. For instance, you’ve been through the ups and downs. You’ve encountered serious life problems that others find it hard to surpass. And it indeed made your relationship stronger to the point that it seems impossible to break up.

Coping mechanisms happen when you need to cope from difficult situations through staying beside them even when they get toxic.

While all of these can be valid reasons to feel, it is still not good to endure toxicity. I hope you spend some time reassessing the things in your life. Pick your battles wisely and make sure you overcome them. Hope this helps.

Sign up to discover human stories that deepen your understanding of the world.

Free

Distraction-free reading. No ads.

Organize your knowledge with lists and highlights.

Tell your story. Find your audience.

Membership

Read member-only stories

Support writers you read most

Earn money for your writing

Listen to audio narrations

Read offline with the Medium app

Marie Osmeña
Marie Osmeña

Written by Marie Osmeña

Passionate about delving into interracial relationships. Writer for https://asian-women.com/ Find me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Marie-Osme%C3%B1a

No responses yet

Write a response