5 telltale signs your relationship is bad for your health, even if you rarely fight

• Sometimes, it's hard to tell if a relationship is truly healthy and fulfilling.
• If you're in an unhealthy relationship, you might experience physical symptoms of stress.

If you're not sure if you're in the right relationship, sometimes just listening to your body can give you crucial answers.

"When a relationship is bad for our health, it's because of the stress that it's causing our body," Suzanne Degges-White, a licensed counselor and professor at Northern Illinois University, told Business Insider.

Degges-White said people in unhealthy relationships can experience several physical symptoms of stress and anxiety. She shared five common ways your health can be impacted when you feel unsafe or unheard in a partnership.

1. You get stomach aches, not butterflies

While butterflies are common early on in relationships, Degges-White said there's a big difference between excited jitteriness and more serious stomach pains.

"For some people, their digestive system is the first kind of red alert sign" that something isn't right in the relationship, she said.

"When your relationship is not good for you, you're not going to feel those butterflies," Degges-White said. "You're going to feel somersaults and feel ill."

2. Your skin feels itchy

Anxiety and depression can lead to skin burning and itching, research has found. Degges-White said some people in relationships with lots of tension might break out in itchy patches from the stress and even scratch their skin out of nervousness.

3. You get headaches or feel flushed

Just like you can get a stress headache in anticipation of a work event or school deadline, Degges-White said a bad relationship can cause one, too.

According to her, paying attention to your circulatory system is also a good way to tell if your relationship dynamic is making you uncomfortable.

She said asking yourself, "Do you feel your blood pressure rising? Do you feel your face flushing when you have to deal with someone?" is a good way to check in with how your body is reacting to a partner.

4. Your body feels heavy or tired

Over time, Degges-White said the stress of being in an unhealthy relationship can impact your whole body, making even basic movements like getting into your car or going to work feel like it takes everything out of you.

"You might feel like your legs are heavy, or you might start having foot pain because you can't walk another mile," she said.

Fatigue and lack of motivation are also symptoms of depression, which can be caused by environmental factors such as feeling stuck in a draining relationship.

5. You literally feel suffocated

If you're around someone who makes you feel emotionally or physically unsafe during arguments, Degges-White said your body can respond by entering panic mode.

"It can feel like your chest is constricted like you can't breathe when you're around someone who is really dragging you down," she said. "So psychologically you're thinking, 'I need to get some space from this person. I need some air.'"

Fight, flight, freeze, or fawn are all responses to stressful situations, some of which involve heavier breathing or panic attacks.