Why Highly Intelligent People Stay in Toxic Relationships
Psychology Today | 07.01.2026 01:22
A common misconception is that people who remain in toxic or abusive relationships are weak, dependent, or oblivious to the harm. In reality, many people who struggle to break free from relationships that are no longer working are intelligent, capable, high-functioning, and empathic. They see the dysfunction clearly and can even articulate what is wrong, and yet they struggle to leave, get frustrated with themselves, and do not understand why that is.
