10 Signs You Could Be in a Toxic Relationship, According to Experts

There's a difference between a partner offering constructive criticism — such as attempting to show you a more effective way to load the dishwasher or suggesting you sit down and come up with a new budget together — and one who is constantly putting you down and criticizing you.

"Degradation often creates a hierarchy in the relationship in which the one being degraded tries to please the other and desperately seeks approval," Macadaan says. "The toxic partner is using degradation as a tool to control and feel powerful, usually due to their own lack of self-esteem."