The people we surround ourselves with can have a significant impact on our lives. Positive relationships can uplift and inspire us, while negative relationships can drain our energy and affect our mental health. Toxic people are those who have a negative impact on our lives and well-being. Here are some reasons why you should stop hanging out with toxic people and how to recognize them.
I would like to add that there is a difference between having a bad day/week and really toxic people. Everyone has one of those days when nothing is working out and maybe they are complaining too about their day. Toxic people seem to have only bad days.
why you should stop hanging out with toxic people
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They Drain Your Energy: Toxic people can be draining, leaving you feeling exhausted, anxious, and stressed. Spending time with them can leave you feeling depleted and overwhelmed. You can literally feel the difference between positive and negative people.
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They Bring Drama and Negativity: Toxic people often bring drama and negativity into your life. They may constantly complain, criticize, or gossip about others, which can lead to a negative and toxic atmosphere.
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They Undermine Your Self-Worth: Toxic people can make you feel inferior or inadequate. They may criticize or belittle you, which can lead to a loss of self-esteem and confidence.
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They Are Manipulative: Toxic people may use manipulation tactics to control or influence you. They may guilt-trip you, use passive-aggressive behaviour, or try to make you feel responsible for their problems.
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They Are Not Willing to Change: Toxic people may not be willing to change their behaviour, even when confronted with the negative impact they have on others. They may continue to engage in toxic behaviour, making it difficult to maintain a healthy relationship.
How to recognize a toxic person?
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They constantly criticize or belittle you. There is a difference between feedback and criticism. If this person always tells you what you do wrong but is never there when you do something right. They are not the right friends for you.
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They bring drama and negativity into your life. You don’t want to have drama in life, but toxic people love to gossip about others. They mostly talk in a negative way about others or things that happened. They never talk about good things, unless maybe it happened to them. But overall, they are focused on the negative side of life.
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They don’t respect your boundaries or needs. If you need space, they are not willing to give you that. They do whatever they want to do. They care about themselves and less about others, even though they pretend to care about you.
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They constantly blame others for their problems. They never hold themselves accountable for their own actions. They blame things/people for their own problems.
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They are manipulative and try to control or influence you. They gaslight you and make you feel bad about yourself even though they are the ones who did something bad.
If you have toxic people in your life, it’s important to set boundaries and limit your interactions with them. Here are some ways to distance yourself from toxic people:
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Set boundaries: Be clear about what behaviours you will not tolerate and stick to them. If they cross that boundary, tell them and if they do not care, walk away from them. You should never change your boundaries for them.
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Limit contact: Reduce the amount of time you spend with toxic people, and avoid situations where you may be forced to interact with them. When you spend a lot of time with toxic people, you will find you will start behaving like them. That is exactly what you want to avoid. Energy is contagious, be careful who you are spending time with.
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Surround yourself with positive people: Surround yourself with people who uplift and support you, and who have a positive impact on your life. It is just better for your mental health if you spend more time with positive people. Don’t have to be 100% happy all the time. Spending time with positive people means people who are supportive, don’t gossip too much and try to make the most of everything.
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Focus on self-care: Take care of yourself by engaging in activities that bring you joy and reduce stress, such as exercise, meditation, or spending time in nature. Focus on yourself. If you feel good, people feel better too. As I said, energy is contagious. Make sure you feel good (without suppressing emotions). This is your life. You decide what kind of life you have.
Photo by Antonino Visalli on Unsplash