3 Health Problems Linked To Bad Relationships, But Often Misattributed

Good health has become a rare privilege in today’s stressful world, where so many of us battle emotional and physical challenges every day. Our relationships with others can be the boats that bring us back to shore in life’s turbulent storms.

These connections could be our romantic relationships, familial bonds, or the work buddies who see us through the ups and downs of professional life. But what if these connections become the very cause of our agony? More people now are stuck in toxic relationships than ever before, either refusing to leave or unable to do so.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline reports that people may need seven attempts to leave an abusive relationship completely. The reasons could be diverse, from believing in threats to feeling pressured due to children.

Unfortunately, allowing abusive relationships to fester can cause health problems that seem to stem from nowhere. Identifying these possibilities and addressing them is non-negotiable for your well-being and quality of life.

1. A Sensitive Gut

Have you felt that your tummy has been acting up more often of late? Despite making an effort to eat healthier meals on time?

A sensitive gut has become a societal challenge plaguing people of all ages. But what is most disturbing is that digestive issues often have deeper underlying causes than just what’s on your plate.

People trapped in ugly relationships typically experience high levels of stress. Stress over skewed responsibilities and guilt-shaming. Anxieties over possible misunderstandings and infidelity. It does not end.

The Journal of Applied Physiology notes the relationship between psychosocial stress and gastrointestinal microbiome. Continued stress also pushes many people toward poor lifestyle choices, such as alcohol use and reduced physical exercise. Combine all that, and you get a sensitive gut that gets easily provoked.

Recent studies establish the validity of the gut-brain axis, i.e., the connection between gut microbiota and mental health or neurological conditions. In fact, many scientists are now working on analyzing the communication between your stomach and brain to understand its manifestations on anxiety, depression, and fatigue.

When gastrointestinal problems don’t abate despite your best efforts, it may be worth re-examining your connections with the people in your life. It’s only your ready-to-microwave dinner after work that can hurt the gut; a close friendship gone sour can be just as damaging.

2. High Blood Pressure

The latest WHO data suggests that 1.4 billion adults in the 30 to 79 years age bucket had hypertension in 2024. Worryingly, over 40 percent of this population is oblivious to their condition.

Typically, we blame our sedentary lifestyles and high salt intake for blood pressure issues. But as more young people start getting diagnosed with hypertension and cardiovascular problems, it has become urgent to dig deeper.

As it turns out, the songs about heartbreak are more literal than they realized. The American Heart Association explains that relationship complications, such as unrequited love, can cause your heart rate and blood pressure to shoot up. Similarly, toxic relationships can embroil you in heart-unhealthy habits like binge eating junk foods or feeling unmotivated to exercise.

Modern medicine is cognizant of these connections. More wellness experts now consider socio-emotional factors, such as positive relationships, in making diagnoses and charting treatment plans. Nursing students pursuing a post master’s FNP program online or offline now learn to build a comprehensive perspective on their patients’ wellness, looking at a full-lifespan picture.

Carson-Newman University notes that FNPs can help people develop and maintain healthy lifestyles that focus on disease prevention and wellness. For example, your nurse or counselor may advise you to focus on addressing chronic physical conditions that limit you, like diabetes. It may require concrete steps, such as dietary changes and mindful decisions. No space there for the shackles of failed past relationships.

3. Weakened Immunity

Many toxic relationships suffer from poor or abusive communication patterns. In a marriage, it can mean endless arguments and power struggles over every mundane decision. At the workplace, it can entail an inability to express yourself for fear of getting chastised or ignored.

A 2024 study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology found that dysfunctional communication in relationships can create chronic inflammation over time. It may start with easily dismissed symptoms, such as slower wound healing or perpetual feelings of stress.

Over time, relationships that involve excessive arguing and unsolved problems can escalate inflammation markers in your body. You can experience lasting weakened immunity, which you may then attribute to consuming too many processed foods or not getting enough exercise.

This is not to imply that diet and exercise don’t impact your immune system (of course they do!). However, many people now experience immunological challenges despite being cautious about nutrition and physical activity. It is time to examine the relationships we hold close to our hearts and the impact they have on our lives.

Our relationships impact us, shaping our thoughts and opinions and developing our worldview. They hold us close in difficult times and are a fallback when nothing else seems to be going right. Bad relationships can be the polar opposite, filling us with darkness, despair, and ill health.

In our short and unpredictable lives, where many health problems continue to defeat the best doctors, let us not give people the power to get us down.

Subscribe and Heal your Relationships.

You deserve a healthy, loving relationship and it starts with You. Learn how to untangle Complex Shame™ and co-dependency to finally have the beautiful, secure relationship with yourself and others that you’ve always wanted. 

Subscribe and as a thank you, I’ll send you the Steps to Healing from Complex Shame™.