Red Flags, Boundaries & Your Nervous System: Why That Toxic Relationship Is Draining You 🧠💔
- Brittany Morey
- Apr 7
- 3 min read
Let’s talk about something many of us have faced at one point or another: toxic relationships.
Whether it’s a partner, friend, relative, or coworker, these relationships don’t just weigh on your feelings—they directly impact your nervous system. 😣
And when your system is out of balance, it’s harder to:
💤 Sleep
🍽️ Digest
🧠 Think clearly
🧘♀️ Feel calm
💪 Heal and recover
So let’s dive into spotting red flags, setting healthy boundaries, and protecting your energy 🔋 so your nervous system can finally rest + restore. 💆♀️🌿
❤️ 1. Romantic Relationships
If your partner makes you feel anxious, small, or like you’re constantly walking on eggshells... That’s not just “stress”—that’s your nervous system stuck in sympathetic mode (fight or flight). 😤⚡Over time, this leads to burnout, hormone chaos, and emotional depletion.
Healthy boundaries sound like: 🗣️ “I need to take space when things get heated. I won’t participate in conversations where I’m being blamed or disrespected.”🚫 “I’m allowed to say no without guilt.”
🤝 2. Friendships
Your body knows when a friend is draining your energy. If you’re leaving hangouts feeling judged, overstimulated, or heavy 😩—your nervous system is likely stuck in hypervigilance, scanning for emotional landmines. 💣
Try these boundaries: “I love you, but I need some quiet time today. Let’s talk later.”🙅♀️ “I’m not in a place to take on anyone else’s problems right now.”
✨ PSA: The people you spend time with either regulate 🧘♀️ or dysregulate 🌪️ your nervous system.
👨👩👧 3. Family Relationships
Let’s be real—setting boundaries with family is hard. 😬But just because you’re related doesn’t mean they get unlimited access to your energy. 🚧
Toxic family dynamics can lock your nervous system into a pattern of learned stress, making you hyper-sensitive to everything else around you.
Try saying: 🚷 “I’m not comfortable with this conversation. I’m stepping away.”🗯️ “I don’t accept passive-aggressive comments. Please speak directly and respectfully.”
💥 Hot truth: You can protect your peace—even from your parents, siblings, or in-laws.
💼 4. Workplace Dynamics
Toxic work culture = 24/7 nervous system overload. 😵💫That tension doesn’t clock out at 5PM.
If your boss, coworker, or office vibe is toxic, it can disrupt your:
🛌 Sleep
💩 Digestion
❤️🩹 Emotional regulation
🧬 Hormones
Try saying: “I don’t take work calls after 6PM.”📴 “I’m not okay with that tone. Let’s revisit this when we’re both calm.”
📝 Also: Save those emails. Toxic workplaces often gaslight you into thinking you’re the problem.
🧠 Your Nervous System Flags Everything
Your body doesn’t just hear what people say—it feels the energy they carry. Every interaction tells your brain:🟢 “I’m safe” or 🔴 “I’m not.”
Nervous system based chiropractic helps rebalance your nervous system. But here’s the truth bomb 💣—you still have to remove the source of that chronic stress.
Toxic relationships don’t just hurt your heart 💔—they dysregulate your nervous system. Set the boundary. Walk away when you need to. ✌️ Your health depends on it.
💥 If you’ve been in survival mode for a while now, your body may be holding on to way more stress than you realize.
💡 Chiro Fun Fact!
Your nervous system mirrors the people around you. This is called co-regulation.
If you’re in close connection with someone whose system is constantly dysregulated (anxious 😰, manipulative 🧨, angry 😤, negative 🕳️)... your nervous system starts to mirror that chaos.
So if you’re in a toxic relationship?⚠️ Your nervous system becomes toxic, too. You can’t enter true rest, healing, or restoration when you're absorbing their stress all day.
🎯 Curious if your nervous system is stuck in fight-or-flight from a toxic environment?📍 Pop in for a quick nervous system scan and let’s talk about real healing. 💗
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