A toxic relationship

Half of youth who have been victims of both dating violence and rape attempt suicide, while compared to 12.5 percent of non-abused girls who attempt it and 5.4 percent of non-abused boys attempt it. Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in one year. One in 10 high school students has been intentionally hit or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend. Only 33 percent of teens who were in a violent relationship ever told anyone about the abuse. Information from Loveisrespect

— When a toxic relationship turns deadly

“You’re toxic, I’m slipping under. With a taste of a poison paradise, I’m addicted to you. Don’t you know that you’re toxic?” Though a catchy tune, Britney Spears’s song, “Toxic,” sung for her 2003 fourth studio album, In the Zone, has a dark undertone of how some relationships can be: bad for a person, but yet they keep coming back.

Relationships are bound to be rocky, no matter what kind. Whether it be love, friendship or a relationship between family members, commonly, measures are taken to keep these relationships healthy. However, a person can only be hurt so many times before she says “enough.”

Sophomore Isabella Trevisan thinks that when people in a relationship do not trust each other and lie to each other, the relationship becomes toxic.

“When they make you end other friendships so they can have you all to themselves, that makes it toxic,” Trevisan said. “Basically, when they try to control your life and make everything about that single relationship, they don’t trust you enough to be around your friends, and that isn’t a healthy relationship.”

According to Loveisrespect, a project of the National Domestic Violence Hotline that is a resource to empower the youth to help put a stop to dating abuse, what many people do not understand is that it can be difficult for those in an abusive relationship to break up with their significant other. Some of the reasons that young people stay in toxic relationships are clinging to the hope that their love will change their partner’s actions, fearing the embarrassing moment when they admit that they were abused, and pressuring from peers to stay in the relationship.

Junior Kassidy Allen has had a few unsuccessful relationships, and she was curious about how she could improve a relationship, whether it be with friend, family member or significant other.

Allen took it upon herself to write an essay in her English 11 class about how to maintain a healthy relationship. In her research, she found that communication, trust and compromise are the three attributes that are most important in a relationship.

“Without communication, there will be many misunderstandings, and misunderstandings usually result in the end of a relationship,” Allen said. “Without compromise, one person will always be giving something up, and at one point they will finally have enough of giving up everything. Compromise is good so that you both get what you want, and it also comes into play with communication. If there is no trust, then accusations will be made you will feel trapped. You should never feel trapped in a relationship.”