Friends are significant in our lives and go a long way in improving our lives’ quality. From making us happy to help us combat loneliness and giving us support during the challenging phases of life, colleagues are unquestionably vital. By maintaining links with good friends, we can increase our longevity and improve health by reducing the risks of stress, hypertension, and blood pressure. However, not all friends are good for us, and in fact, some buddies can be unbelievably toxic.
Toxic friends can manifest in different ways, but they all put immense strain on your mental health. A toxic buddy is one that never adds value to you but diminishes you all the time. Even though some people are entangled with toxicity, they do not know how to identify these negative influences. Let’s explore exactly how you can tell if your friendship with a particular person has turned toxic.
- Nasty Pattern of Behavior:
Even though a genuinely kind friend can have a few bad days, he or she typically rebounds, and you see their sweet sides again. However, that is not true of a noxious friend. Like my ex, Ron, a poisonous companion exhibits a nasty pattern of behavior in which they do everything possible to make you feel bad. The most shocking part of this behavior is that they never regret their actions and show no willingness to change even when you complain and let them know how hurt you are. - Running You Down Always:
A good buddy will laugh at your jokes, share ideas with you and even tease you but what a good friend will never do is to run you down. Your true patron will not rubbish you, your actions, or your ideas but will do everything possible to make sure that you are inspired and encouraged. On the other hand, a toxic colleague will seize every opportunity to mock, deride, humiliate, or even insult you. While a good friend will nicely tease you, and you will both laugh about it, a toxic one will give stinging insults and even curses that will spoil your day. - Fake Apologies:
A sincere mate will apologize with all sincerity if he or she sees that you have been hurt. A good friend will also make conscious efforts to ensure that they never repeat such actions. But for toxic friends, they do not care about how you feel. Even when you make their evil actions known to them, they either dismiss your view or give a fake apology. It is also apparent that the apology they offer is not genuine, as they still find one way or the other to blame you. - Gossip and Slander:
Your real buddy will never gossip behind your back or even slander you. If you tell a mate something in confidence, you will be very sure that a third party will never hear of it. That does not apply to a toxic friend. Sharing things in spirit with a toxic mate is a waste of time because you will listen to the matter from the entire public. You cannot keep secrets with them, and he or she has no problems with gossiping behind your back or slandering your name all over the place. You are a fair game for a toxic friend, and he or she has no problem with smearing you. This is one of the most prominent traits and you should watch out. - Never Defends You or Your Interests:
A beloved colleague is one who will always defend you either in private or in public. One of the ways you will know that you have a friend for real is that the person will never throw you under the bus. (S)he will be passionate all the time about protecting you and your image and will do everything possible to ensure that your interests are defended at all times. There will never be a defense of either yourself or your interests in the case of a toxic companion. - No Celebration of Your Achievements:
When a colleague is always quick to compare you with other people and never see anything good in even your stellar achievements, you are in a toxic relationship. He/she will never celebrate your accomplishments or even appreciate your efforts. A friend who believes in you will motivate and inspire you and be overjoyed with your achievements. - Exhibition of Selfishness:
Even though a toxic mate finds it exceedingly difficult or impossible to see anything good in you, he or she never fails to put his or her interests first. Selfishness is a trait that is seen in all toxicity. They only care about themselves and nothing else. The world can go to blazes; they do not care as long as their base is covered.
While we must have friends, it is even more critical that we have good friends. Not all friends are healthy for us. Some people are toxic, and we need to do away with such individuals. What this piece has done is to outline the red flags to watch out for whenever one is in such a relationship and work out an exit as fast as possible.
