Acharya Prashant explains that to understand toxic relationships, one must go to the very beginning of the relationship. He states that most of the time, a relationship does not turn toxic; it is toxic from its inception, in its genesis itself. The toxicity simply remains hidden when things are rosy and pink, and it surfaces when situations become adverse. It is then that we feel the relationship has turned sour, but it hasn't. Relationships are typically founded on a need. A person feels attracted to another because they believe the other person can fulfill a certain need, which could be emotional, physical, or even financial. This means one is looking at the other person in a utilitarian way, wanting to use them to plug a hole within oneself. This hole is a sense of lack, hollowness, emptiness, or incompletion that constantly bothers a person. This foundation of using the other person is not very different from exploitation. It may appear like love, but it is about using the other person to fill one's own void. The problem is that this need, this inner hollowness, can never truly be fulfilled by another person. When the person one has brought home does not do what was expected of them, resentment and toxicity arise. This can lead to subtle or overt violence. People often stay in such relationships because there is a trade-off; they tolerate the humiliation and abuse because they are getting some kind of payoff that they believe outweighs the pain. The ego is fundamentally pleasure-seeking and will not do anything without getting something in return. The real solution to the toxicity is not merely a physical separation, which he calls a temporary measure, but maturity. The real solution is to heal oneself by honestly acknowledging one's own role and ignorance, rather than just blaming the other person. One must see that they are not a victim of the other, but are suffering due to their own mischief and ignorance. The true spiritual breakup is not with the other person, but with one's old self. When you are no longer the person who entered the relationship out of neediness, you have truly broken up. This inner transformation is the only way to end the cycle of exploitation and suffering.