“Toxic” is an overused metaphor in relationships, but it does help us reason thru what we might not be able to access.

They say, “The dose makes the poison,’ and I think the toxic analogy extends in this sense, too. We need to work thru the trauma to resolve it.

There is a principal in medicine called hormesis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormesis

In small doses, the “poison” makes us stronger. In larger doses, it kills us.

For me, reframing my romantic obsessions as potential solution to a problem I have yet to understand, instead of a potential problem I should avoid, has been very helpful.

Thanks for writing.