Unfortunately, many of us have had a toxic (romantic) relationship. They’re destructive and incredibly painful. What’s worse is that, once we’re in one, it can be really hard to realize the true nature of the situation and break away.

Maybe we rely on our partner too much or they have destroyed our self-esteem; it can often seem easier to stay in an unhealthy, dysfunctional relationship than to end it and move on.

But we have to. And artist Jean Dolly has just released a comic that perfectly explains why—we can drown in it.

Titled ‘Somebody I used to know’, it describes a fairly common personality type that, instead of partnering with someone, leeches onto them and… Well, just continue scrolling and check it out for yourself.

More info: jeandolly.com | Instagram

Jean Dolly lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. “Recently, I’ve started to document my life and my thoughts in a series of comics, graphic short stories if you will,” she introduced herself to Bored Panda. “I love creating art. I love telling stories.”

‘Somebody I used to know’ wasn’t born from a random thought or anything—Jean Dolly used to know the type of person the comic depicts.

“She was a friend of a friend,” the artist said. “In the short time we interacted, I saw her bounce from boyfriend to boyfriend to boyfriend. Adoring her new loves with all her heart and vilifying them a month later, creating lots of drama and leaving them hurt and bewildered, wondering what the hell happened.”

However, Jean Dolly doesn’t think that particular person was being mean. “There was no real malice there, just a terrible need to be in a relationship and completely incapable of handling one,” she said. “I’ve heard people speaking of borderline personality disorder, that might fit, I don’t know, I’m not a psychologist. She was definitely broken in some way.”

“I’d like to add that I post my work on Reddit and Imgur as jeandolly, if you’d like to see more of my work, you can follow me there. You can also follow me on Instagram: @hellojeandolly.”

A relationship can be toxic even if it is not abusive, and it can be just as dangerous, if not more; a person may not be aware that it’s harming them. Like boiling a frog, a toxic relationship can kill people slowly from the inside, stunt their growth, and lower their self-esteem without them knowing it. To learn more about how to identify a toxic relationship, you can read this article.

Many people have been relating to the comic

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