By How Gen Z Can Avoid Abusive Relationships (Part 1)
Boluwatife Yusuf
For young people just coming into terms with relationships, getting it right is very important. For Gen Z, that is, children born between 1997 and 2012, particularly the older section around 20 to 24 years old, the need to get loved or the craving for love might make them get entangled in abusive relationships without knowing how to get out.
2million women and 800,000 men, according to medicine.net.com, have fallen victim to abusive partners, resulting in homelessness, injury, death, billions of dollars in healthcare costs, and loss of work productivity of the victims.
Although, countless measures have been taken on how to curb abusive relationships for most especially, women. It is still believed that the change starts from individual persons – You and I!
Do not in any way, aid or abet abusive relationships i.e do not be a contributor to it and don’t support it either.
If you happen to be in a relationship, make sure to care, respect and love your partner.
And if you happen to find yourself in an abusive relationship WALK AWAY!!!!
Below are tips on how to curb abusive relationships:
- Love yourself: Know and admit to yourself that self-love is one of the most essential aspect of human life, know that you are beautiful inside out, either slim, fat, tall, short, dark or light-skinned, know that you are amazing and you can only be the better version of yourself. Love yourself! That way you can spread love to others. Yes, it isn’t easy to unlove someone you once loved and cared about so much but it’s way easier than making yourself suffer mentally, emotionally or even physically! If you keep up with an abusive relationship ask yourself “what is it I stand to gain?” Hurtful words, beatings, bad treatments and many more. You should know you deserve more, you need to be loved and taken care of. So once again LOVE YOURSELF…
- Communicate: Tell that boyfriend/girlfriend of yours your do’s and don’ts. You should, of course, try to see things from the other person’s point of view but still make your wishes known. ‘Jay, I don’t like being ignored… no matter what talk to me, ‘ don’t ever yell at me no matter how crossed you are’ and many other things you know you wouldn’t like.
Things you know could cause you pain emotionally or mentally should be properly discussed and outlined.
- Don’t do to another, what you wouldn’t like: As much as you don’t want to be yelled at, ignored or whatever it may seem, learn to respect other people’s choices also. You don’t want your partner to check your phone? Don’t check his/hers either. Do you want your partner to reply to your messages almost immediately? Then don’t keep their messages waiting either. That way you are more likely to get the same energy you give and won’t have to bottle up things that your partner might be doing that might be causing you pain. If you are guilt-free of an offence then you feel free to talk about it but you wouldn’t want to discuss an issue you know even you are guilty of.
- Walk away: If you have tried to make your partner change, and he/she isn’t yielding then walk away. If you believe he/she will still change then wait for that change while you are not in the relationship. More like a break it seems, but let it be known inside of you only that if he/she changes then you could (probably) give him/her another chance. If you make it known to your partner that it’s just a break then he/she might put an act up just to get you back and lead you on. So, in most cases, it’s better you just walk away, if it happens that things might work out again then let it just be so. Don’t have it in mind to go back to an abusive relationship.
To get tips on how to get a good relationship, more relationship talks and advice, follow us for the other part of this story…
