I think most of us have been in one toxic relationship or another in our lives. People are so screwed up. My family was dysfunctional to some degree but aren't most of them? Although, I didn't voluntarily enter into this relationship. I was born into it.
The ones I entered into or fell into (without knowing what I was getting into) were various friendships over the years. In adolescence there were the girlfriends in the neighborhood you hung around with. I was the 'square' girl who wanted to hang out with the popular girls because I wanted to meet the boys. I was disrespected because I wore funny shoes and a stupid hairstyle that my Mother made me wear. The disrespect (and the toxic relationships) ended when I got a 'body' and was no longer the funny looking girl they could make fun of.
In later years of young adulthood, which was just a few years before finding the JW religion, I had some friends that weren't the best for me. I ended up changing my phone number. This was a bit drastic but necessary at the time.
Then I found the JW religion. They TRIED: to tear down my self-esteem and abase me; cut me off from my friends and family; tried to impoverish me by houding me to quit my job; to mess with my head by filling it with all sorts of fantasies that I was supposed to pretend were real; told me I wasn't good enough and how I should let people use and abuse me (or words similar to that) etc.
I would have to say they get the reward for being the most toxic relationship of all.