Ever have that experience where your partner or friend or family member made you feel insecure, unsafe, unloved, and uncertain.

If that was an ongoing pattern,

chances are they had high levels of the dark triad of personality traits,

Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism.

What do these traits look like in action,

and why are they so destructive to relationships?

Welcome back to savvy psychologist.

I'm your host Dr. Jade Wu.

Every week, I'll help you meet life's challenges with evidence-based research,

a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment. Today we learn about the dark triad

and the destructive relationship patterns that they bring. We've all had our share of

relationships we regret. There was one that went on too long because we were afraid of change.

Maybe one where there was a lot of chemistry, but it turned out that you were on opposite sides of a political issue that was a

deal breaker. Or you clicked well, but you just couldn't get along with their family.

These are common relationship missteps we can chalk up to life's lemons, and usually there's not much harm done, other than temporarily hurt feelings and a sense of having wasted time.

But then there are relationships that are darker. They perhaps start

out passionately or even lovingly, but somehow there's an insidious slide into a different

dynamic that doesn't feel right.

You wake up one day to find yourself feeling unsafe or unloved or uncertain or like you've just

totally lost your sense of self.

If you find yourself feeling like this in a relationship,

you might be dealing with a partner that has some personality traits

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