"How to end a toxic relationship" by Gunnur Karakurt and Rachel Croce has thoughtful suggestions about awareness and action when someone is in a bad situation. Their summary:

1. Learn to distinguish healthy from toxic relationships. A healthy relationship involves feeling accepted and secure. A toxic relationship causes chronic emotional and/or physical harm.
2. Take stock of your own relationship. If you have a nagging feeling that something is seriously off, it’s important that you slow down and look at what’s going on.
3. Know the red flags. These range from microaggressions to financial control to gaslighting to violence.
4. If you’re worried, ask these questions. If you think your relationship might be toxic, dig deeper by asking yourself questions such as ‘Who says “no” to what in your relationship?’ and ‘Does your partner seem too good to be true?’
5. Do something about your situation. If it’s safe to do so, speak up clearly and honestly about your concerns, develop coping strategies, and prepare to deal with feelings of guilt.
6. If you need to get out, create a safety plan. If your partner is volatile, take the risks seriously and plan your exit carefully. This includes having a safe place to go and stay.

... with additional commentary along the way about having respect for each other, about sharing one's challenges with close friends, about maintaining self-esteem and resilience, and about the virtue of building "... a sense of agency and autonomy outside of the relationship ..." — including:

... It’s also appropriate to have friendships separate from your partner and to obtain support from them that your partner is unable to give you. You and your partner alone cannot meet all of each other’s needs. The key is that there exists both separateness and a sense of connection with your partner. Trust and boundaries are important to achieving this. ...

Excellent thoughts to help in scary and complex circumstances!

_{(cf When Someone You Love Is Unhappy (2011-05-29), Relationship Repair (2022-03-09), You Are Brave (2022-03-30), ...) - ^z - 2024-01-14}