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This Comic Captures The Reality Of Toxic Relationships And Many People Find It Familiar

This Comic Captures The Reality Of Toxic Relationships And Many People Find It Familiar

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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.

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“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.”

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“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.

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    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

    Read less »
    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

    Read less »

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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    Kisses4Katie
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have bipolar and I've been that woman to my husband. I'm so ashamed and thankful that he is willing to work with me on my worst days. I'm trying hard to be the best person I can be.

    Biljana Malesevic
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's not just about love relationship and it can have any gender on both. This is just one representation, but it could describe any type of relationship between any two people, even friends or cousins.

    Load More Comments
    Kisses4Katie
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have bipolar and I've been that woman to my husband. I'm so ashamed and thankful that he is willing to work with me on my worst days. I'm trying hard to be the best person I can be.

    Biljana Malesevic
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's not just about love relationship and it can have any gender on both. This is just one representation, but it could describe any type of relationship between any two people, even friends or cousins.

    Load More Comments
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