Friends are supposed to fill you with energy and make you feel better. If spending time with a supposed friend has the opposite effect, you’re probably looking at a toxic friendship. Learn how to spot toxic people at a glance and how to effectively get rid of them.
How to Identify Toxic Friends
1. Consistently Negative
Toxic friends always find something to whine about, whether it’s their love life, some ailment or the state of the economy. Such people will go out of their way to earn your sympathy or to bring you down along with them.
2. Self-Centred
Toxic friends don’t care about your boundaries or your needs. They are exclusively focused on their own needs. They never take no for an answer. If you reach the point where you feel you can’t say no to them, it’s time to run for your life.
3. Your Worst Critic
Toxic friends love criticizing you, whether it has to do with your look or your lifestyle choices. Staying in a “friendship” with someone who is constantly putting you down can shatter your self-esteem to pieces.
4. Have A Tragedy Every Day
Toxic friends always blow things out of proportion. Little things, like someone forgetting to do the laundry, become major crises for them.
5. Always A Victim
Toxic friends have a way of always shifting the blame onto the others, while they appear as the innocent victim. They are incapable of taking responsibility for their own actions.
So, if any of your “friends” fit the description, chances are yours is a toxic friendship. Deep down, you probably knew that. Now comes the hardest bit – putting your foot down and getting out of your so-called friendship.
How to Get Rid of Toxic Friends
1. Don’t Cut Them Off All Of A Sudden.
Unless you want to face their bitter rage and being bad-mouthed till Kingdom come, find subtler ways to disentangle yourself from your association.
2. Don’t Try To Fix Them.
Whatever you do, don’t think you can fix them. This is a lost cause. Such people will find a way to play the victim again and make you appear as the bad guy.
3. Stick Up For Your Yourself.
This is an essential step in dealing with toxic friends. Start setting boundaries, find your own voice and speak up about everything that bothers you in your relationship.
4. Spend Less Time With Them.
The best strategy to get rid of toxic friends is to spend less time with them. Get busy. The less time you spend with them, the more difficult it will be for them to play their mind games.
See also:Top Celebrity BFFS
